Rain In Paris
by ExLibris3
Summary: Jen is getting married, but how does Gibbs really fell about that? Does some unexpected feelings for her come out, now when she will marry someone else? Complete
1. Prologue

**_Prologue_**

When Jen came in to work this morning, she was in a very good mood. She stepped into the elevator to go up to her office, when she heard someone call for her to hold the door, she did and Gibbs hurried in.

"Good morning Jethro" she greeted him and smiled. He looked surprised at the happiness in her voice.

"Someone's in a good mood this morning" he just said, without returning the greeting.

"Someone's grumpy today" was her answer, still with a smile playing on her lips. He looked at her as she held her purse with her left hand. He suddenly realized something on her finger, something that hadn't been there before. Jen noticed the shocked expression on his face, which he was even aware of that he wore.

"Jethro? What is it?" she asked, and unaware of what it was he had seen, she absentmindedly played with the ring on her left hand.

"Jen, are you getting married?" he wondered, trying to sound casual. But on the inside, he dreaded to hear the answer.

"Yes, I am" she said softly, gave him a weak smile and walked away when the doors opened, leaving him shocked and extremely confused. He watched for a second as she wandered off, he realized he was just letting her go without further questions, and shouted her name. Jen turned around and he caught up with her.

"You're what?" he hadn't meant to say that, it just slipped out. Just when she was about to reply, he cut her off and continued "I mean, that's great, congratulations, Jen" he tried hard to make the words sound sincere, but he could hear how false they sounded.

"Is that bothering you in any way, special agent Gibbs?" she asked, and for some reason that he couldn't quite figure out at the moment, he didn't like the tone in her voice with which she spoke. It was somewhat cold, and it told him he had nothing to do with it.

"No, just…I didn't know you were seeing someone" he admitted, and she eyed him suspiciously.

"Why would it matter to you if I was dating some?" she questioned, and he realized he was screwed. He also chose not to answer. He excused himself and turned to leave, but was brought back by her calling his name, his first name, not being so informal, but more personal.

"Yes, Jen?"

"The wedding's in two months, I would like to invite you, as my friend" she waited for him to nod in agreement before she turned from him and hurried into her office before he had a chance to speak.

Gibbs sighed. Why did this bother him so much? Why had it hurt so much when she had said he was only her friend? During this whole time she had been Director, he had considered them friends. But…was that really all he wanted from her? Had this mysterious and sudden proposal made him realize there were some other feelings hiding in the depth of his heart? Were there? And just what might those feelings be, maybe romantic feelings? Had he, Leroy Jethro Gibbs, really fallen in love with Jenny Shepard, again?

**_To be continued..._**


	2. Getting Her Back

_Thanks for all the wonderful reviews on the prologue!_

It had been a week. A very long week during which, Gibbs had acted like nothing was wrong when he was at the office. But when he was alone, in his basement working on that goddamn boat, he was extremely unfocused, which had led to a number of cuts and minor injuries from his tools.

Why was he so upset? That was the question he asked himself every minute, every day. He knew the answer though, he just couldn't accept it. He didn't want to admit the fact that he actually had romantic feelings for her, the woman who was his boss as much as his former lover, the woman who had dumped him six years ago. He had gotten over her eventually, and when she'd become Director he learned to be her friend as well as her employee. But he guessed there had been some other feelings for her hiding inside of him all along. They had all come out when she told him she had promised herself to someone else.

He took a sip from his glass of Bourbon. He remembered when he had taught her to drink it, she hadn't liked it at first, but he had been persuasive, and she had eventually embraced the taste.

There was just one thing, she was getting married. Those words stung in his heart. They hurt him, they haunted him. Why? He finally allowed himself to admit it; he was in love with her. He wondered why he had been so afraid to admit it, now when he had, it just felt so right, him and her, together, just like old times. But she was getting married…and not to him. He didn't know who she was marrying, and he didn't really want to know, all he wanted was her. He longed to touch her again, to enjoy the sensation of her lips against his own, to hold her close…

That's when he decided what he would do, he made a vow, promising himself to do anything in his power to get her back, if she just thought back and remembered the time they had spent together, in Paris, maybe the feelings would come back to her, just like they had come back to him. He felt sleep take over his mind, drown his thoughts in the poison of dreams.

Next morning, Gibbs bought coffee before he got in to work. Two cups, one for himself and one for Jen.

He walked to NCIS, waited for the elevator and thought about how the hell he was going to do this, how he would win her back. He was pulled from his thoughts when a man he didn't know walked up to him; apparently he was waiting for the elevator too. He had a sign on his chest saying 'visitor'.

The doors opened and the men stepped in, Gibbs pressed a button, but the other man looked a little lost, he probably didn't know where he was going. He smiled nervously.

"It's actually the first time I'm here. Can you tell me where the Director's office is?" the man asked, Gibbs didn't answer right away, he leaned past the man and pressed another button.

"You're going off on this floor" he said

"Thanks, my fiancée forgot her glasses at home" the man explained, though Gibbs wasn't really that interested in the man's life, he only had one question for him.

"What does the Director have to do with your fiancée forgetting her glasses?" just as he asked that, it hit him, hard. Damn, he was trapped in an elevator with the man he probably hated the most right now.

"Well" the man made a small laugh, though Gibbs didn't find this to be any funny at all, his expression was cold.

"Director Shepard is in fact my fiancée"

"She told me she was getting married" Gibbs said coolly, he couldn't understand why he was still talking to this dirtbag.

"She did? Do you know her well?" the doors opened on the floor where Gibbs was supposed to get off, but he didn't notice, he was too busy being frustrated at this man, Jen's fiancé.

"Yeah, I do. We've been friends for a long time" he succeeded well in keeping to anger that was rising inside of him from his voice.

"Oh, really? I'm Rick by the way" Rick said and held out his hand, but quickly withdrew it when he realized both Gibbs hands were full. "Sorry, didn't see you were carrying _two_ cups of coffee"

This man was seriously trying Gibbs nerves. He looked up just as the doors opened, and got slightly surprised to see Jen standing there.

"Hello Jethro, I was just looking for you…" she started, and then her eyes found Rick "Honey, what are you doing here?" she asked, but she couldn't keep the smile from her lips, Gibbs wanted to throw up when he saw that, and heard the tone in her voice as she spoke to him.

"You forgot your glasses" Rick said and handed the red glasses to her.

"Thank you, I have been looking all over my office for them!" she looked relived. "Shouldn't you be at work?" she asked as the two men stepped out from the elevator. Rick checked his watch.

"Probably, but I thought I'd give you your glasses first"

Jen suddenly turned her attention to Gibbs "Rick, this is special agent Gibbs" she introduced, and Rick nodded.

"Oh so this is the famous Gibbs? Yeah, Jenny has spoke often of you"

"She has?" Gibbs questioned, no one answered though. He handed Jen one of the coffees.

"I got this for you"

Jen looked happily surprised and accepted it. "Thanks Jethro, how sweet of you"

Gibbs couldn't help but notice Rick looking slightly disturbed by this, especially because of the lovely smile Jen gave Gibbs. He was obviously the jealous type. _'Good for me' _Gibbs thought and smiled back at Jen.

Rick gave Jen a quick kiss, said good bye, and walked back towards the elevator. Gibbs had looked away at the kiss, it annoyed him beyond belief. Jen took her eyes off Rick and turned to him instead. She had always been able to read him easily, but right now she wished she couldn't. What she saw in his eyes was hurt that he hadn't quite succeeded in hiding, and a hint of anger.

"Jethro are you ok?" she asked worriedly.

"Yeah, I'm fine. You wanted to talk to me?" he quickly changed the subject. He figured that he would not just start to throw up all sorts of love confessions, he would take this slow, baby steps. He knew that if he told her he loved her and how much she meant to him, she wouldn't trust him to be alone with her, and that was something he needed to be in order to make her feel too.

Jen gave him a suspicious glare, but then decided her mind was only messing with her, Gibbs couldn't possibly be jealous of her marrying Rick, they were friends. And so would they stay, in her opinion.

_Ok, so what exactly is Gibbs up to here? Well, you'll just have to wait until I update, which I promise will be soon!! I always appreciate reviews, thanks!!!!!_


	3. Lies

_**Wow, I never thought I'd get so many reviews with demand on an update! I'm shocked, that's probably why it has taken me so damn long to update…just kidding. No, the reason why I haven't updated this in a while is that first of all, I got tons on homework and assignments for school to do, and second of all, I wasn't exactly sure how to proceed with this one, and I wanted it to be a good story, so sorry for taking so long, but I hope you will find this new chapter as good as you obviously found the first one to be, I'm touched by all your reviews!!**_

'_Every damn day this week', _Gibbs thought frustrated when he looked up and saw Jen and Rick stand at the railing, talking. And this sight he had been forced to endure the past week, didn't that jerk have a job to do? The least he could do is let Jen do hers, if it was her who provided for their income. What Rick also didn't know, was that he distracted Gibbs in his work too, and he was in the way of his plan to get Jen back.

Suddenly, Jen turned her head and met Gibbs gaze, and he immediately started to feel warm and his heartbeats increased. She waved at him and he gave her a nod in response. He held her gaze for a few seconds, until Rick said something to her that ruined the moment when Jen turned to look at him instead.

'_Damn, but at least I got a look from her' _Gibbs thought and with that in his mind, he turned back to his computer and back to work.

"You know, what is it about that guy?" Rick asked and eyed Gibbs suspiciously from upstairs. Jen followed his gaze and she found he was looking at Gibbs.

"Gibbs? What about him?" she had no idea what he was talking about, she hadn't noticed anything different in his behaviour lately, well, he was Gibbs, so of course he could get a bit odd sometimes, but he hadn't been weirder than usual.

"It's just, he keeps looking at you in a disturbing way, have you considered he may be sexually harassing you? It's harassment when his eyes wander up and down you body. I mean, I have seen the way he looks at you…" he got cut off by her laughter.

"Gibbs? Sexually harassing me? You have got to be kidding me! He is a special agent; he works against all sorts of crime, so why would he commit one?" Jen found the whole thought about Gibbs harassing her to be quite funny.

"Maybe you don't know him as well as you think you do" he replied seriously, and Jen's expression changed from entertained smiling to serious.

"Trust me, I know him very well" she promised him, but he still looked suspicious.

"By the way, you never told me how you know him, how you met" Rick asked, and Jen suddenly started to feel uncomfortable.

"Come on, what's your story with him?" he pushed, and Jen felt she had to say something.

Before she answered him she turned and leaned against the railing, and Rick did the same next to her.

"When I first came to NCIS, he was assigned as my mentor" she started and her long red hair fell down over her face "He taught me everything I know, he showed me how to be a NCIS special agent"

"Were you ever involved with him? Romantically involved?" Rick wondered, trying to sound casual.

"No, not like that. Jethro has this rule about romances between agents, they never work" it took a few second for Jen to realize that what she had told him had been a lie, but it was too late to change that now. She didn't tell him they had broken that rule.

"But you worked closely with him?" Rick continued to fish. For some reason that she couldn't quite put her finger to what it was, these questions about Gibbs bothered her.

"Yeah, we were partners for a few years. Did some undercover work in Europe together, but we got separated when he was brought back to Washington, and I was supposed to work anti-terrorism in Europe" she explained, and Rick nodded in understanding. Again, Jen felt bad for lying to him, but now it was too late to tell him the truth.

"You were never attracted to him?"

"No" she answered a little too quickly, and awkwardly looked away from him as he gave her a questioning glance.

"Well, he sure appears to be attracted to you" he muttered under his breath, but Jen heard him just fine.

"No, he's not" she immediately answered, she turned her head back to him, trying to look confident enough to make him believe her "He never has been interested in me that way" who was she really trying to convince with that statement, Rick or herself?

"If you say so" he replied and checked his watch "Oops, I gotta go. But I'll meet you at home later" he said and gave her a quick kiss before he walked off towards the elevators on that floor. Jen watched him until he disappeared, and then she sighed. She suddenly felt those annoying eyes on her again, and when she turned her head, she met Gibbs eyes. She smiled weakly and he smiled back, right after that, she quickly turned around and hurried back into her office.

Gibbs frowned a little by her behaviour, but he chose to think she hadn't been running off like that had nothing to with him. He started to come up with an idea to how he could take advantage of the fact that Rick came here almost every day. Instead of just sitting here on his ass when he was around, he'd start to be closer to Jen, like bringing her coffee or coming up with excuses to talk about the case with her. To put it in a simpler way, he'd make Rick jealous, especially since Jen would have no choice but to talk to him alone if it was about a case.

What had just happened? Had there been a moment between her and Gibbs, just out there when their eyes had met, and something had tingled in her heart, had that been a moment? Jen stood by the window, she felt confused, and not to mention torn. What the hell had she just done to Rick? Why hadn't she told him she and Gibbs had had a relationship? And the truth was that she had always been attracted by his looks, but there was a side that lay within him she didn't always appreciate, the bastard that hid behind the walls of charm he so skilfully had build up to attract, and when things didn't go the way he wanted, he released the beast within. That was what had happened in Paris when they had broken up, she had gotten tired of his style, the whole game they were playing on each other. She probably didn't tell Rick they had been involved because she knew he would never trust Gibbs to be alone with her, she was just trying to save her fiancé from having to worry about her when she was at work.

And just now when their eyes had met, why had that felt so differently then usual when Gibbs looked at her? He always looked at her that way, it had just been a friendly look, not a moment, she told herself and got convinced enough that that had been the case.

She sat down in her chair to start working, but the feeling in her heart remained, and into her vision travelled Gibbs. She shook her head, god she must be really tired, and what the hell was going on with her?

Who was being a fool, her or Gibbs? Her for being engaged to one man while knowing, but refusing to accept, that there was someone else out there who tried to show his love for her but she was just too stubborn and afraid to make a mistake to see it, or Gibbs for trying to win back a woman who tried so desperately to ignore him that she almost forgot to listen to the feelings burning in the depth of her heart?

"Jen?" she looked up at the sound of her voice, and saw Gibbs peeking in through her door.

"Yes?" she questioned and took off her glasses and rubbed her temple.

"It's getting late, shouldn't you be going home to you fiancé soon?" he asked as he stepped in through the door and shut it behind him.

"He's not home yet, he usually works pretty late" Jen answered after checking the clock on her computer screen.

"Right" he said and just stood looking at her for a moment. Jen raised her eyebrows.

"What?"

"Nothing. Are you finished for today?" he asked and tried to sound casual.

"I think I am. Why you wonder?" she shot back and decided to put up her walls in order to resist his charm.

"I was just curious to know if you were in the mood of grabbing something to eat" he said, sounding innocent and she considered his suggestion for a few seconds.

A simple dinner couldn't hurt her, right? By the way she was starving, and eating with Gibbs definitely beated eating alone.

"Okay, I can do that" she answered and for a second Gibbs looked slightly surprised, but quickly found himself again and smiled at her.

"Good, are you ready to leave?" he said and she nodded before turning off her computer and grabbing her coat. Then they left her office together and headed out to the new Chinese restaurant a few blocks away.

Three hours later Jen walked in through the door to her and Rick's apartment. It was dark, except from a lonely light coming from the living room. Without taking off her coat, Jen walked through the hallway and stopped in the door leading to the living room. She saw Rick sitting in the couch, and when he noticed the sound of her footsteps had ceased, he looked up at her.

"Where have you been? I tried calling you at work but you didn't pick up, and your cell phone was off" his voice was soft, but she knew he was worried; he always was when he didn't know where she was. He was the jealous type, and whenever she came home late he asked her if she had been with another guy. Tonight she feared he'd ask her that question, because before when he asked her that, she had said no, because she had never been with someone else while seeing him, but tonight she had been out for dinner with Gibbs, and she knew that wouldn't please Rick.

"I was at a restaurant with a friend, I didn't feel like eating alone" just when she said that, she noticed the dinner table was set for a romantic dinner for two. She closed her eyes and sighed.

"I got out from work earlier today so I would have time to prepare for a special dinner, but you never showed" he said sadly

"How the hell was I supposed to know you had set this up? Of course I assumed you'd be at work so I went out, was that so wrong of me?" for some reason this made her very upset.

"Who did you go out and eat with?" he questioned instead of keep arguing, and Jen thought quickly about what to say, and decided the truth would be best to tell in this situation.

"I went out with Jethro" she admitted and turned around and left Rick in the couch with a shocked expression on his face. Jen slammed the bedroom door shut after her and lay down on her bed after throwing off her coat. A tear fell down her cheek, why she did not know. But she was torn between a lover from the past, all she had of him really was memories, maybe he was different know, maybe he wasn't the one for her anymore like she had thought six years ago, and her recent love, who she knew loved her here and now, and she knew she felt the same. The past or the present, that was the question she had to find an answer to.

_I will update as soon as I can…Please review, thanks!!!_


	4. Best Friends?

Jen woke up alone the next morning, still fully dressed from last night. She turned around in her bed and saw that Rick's side was untouched; he hadn't slept there last night. She knew why he had done that, he had figured she had wanted to be alone, and she was grateful for that. She rolled over to her back and stared up at the ceiling, and she thought about what had happened last night, with Gibbs.

There hadn't been anything unusual about his behaviour around her, sure he had been very polite and they had spent a good time together, but he hadn't been making any moves on her or coming on to her in freaky ways. Maybe this whole thing about Gibbs being jealous of her marrying Rick had only been in her mind, an imagination.

Jen checked her watch and got shocked to see it was already seven o'clock, she needed to get ready if she'd be in at work in time today. She rose from her bed and stretched her body before she headed to the door. But just as she reached out to grab the handle, the door opened from the other side, and she found herself staring right into Rick's eyes.

"I just thought I'd wake you, so you wouldn't be late for work" he explained quickly and started to turn around to walk away from her, leave her alone. But in a quick move Jen pulled him back to her and pressed her lips against his. She felt his surprise at first, but then he started to kiss her back, his arms sliding around her waist. When she pulled away she looked into his face, and he was smiling.

"I appreciate that, so now I have to get ready" she said softly and he let go of her. She smiled slightly at him before disappearing into the bathroom. Rick went into the kitchen and poured himself a cup of coffee while thinking about Gibbs. He realized there was nothing he could do about him, besides holding onto Jen. But the man was seriously trying his nerves, and Rick was unaware of that Gibbs in fact felt the same way about him.

In the bathroom, Jen had taken off her clothes and stepped into the shower to wash up. She turned on the water and enjoyed the feeling of the water drops tingle her skin. She dropped the bottle of shampoo when she realized what the feeling reminded her of. That day in Paris, that rainy day in Paris when she and Gibbs had decided to go for a walk in the park. In the middle of the park, on a lawn, they had dropped their umbrella and he had taken her into his arms and kissed her while the rain had poured down over their heads. But there they had stood, in the middle of all the rain, kissing passionately and he had told her he loved her, on that rainy day in Paris, when the raindrops had lovingly caressed her skin.

She thought she heard a knock on the door, and turned off the water.

"Jenny, is everything ok? I thought I heard something…" Rick's voice came through the door and Jen closed her eyes.

"It's ok, I just dropped the shampoo bottle" she answered and she head him respond with a simple "Ok" and then he left the door.

Still with her eyes closed, she turned the water back on, and the feeling immediately returned. How come she all of a sudden remembered this? It was all in the past, she had no reason for thinking about that now. It had been a wonderful day for sure, but it had been with Gibbs…and right now she just couldn't afford to think about him, her engagement might not last that. And she didn't want to loose what she got.

Ten minutes later Jen snuck out from the bathroom and into her bedroom, where she then proceeded into her walk-in closet to pick out today's outfit. She chose a black skirt combined with a red shirt that she tucked into her skirt, and since it was about knee-length, she picked out a pair of high-heeled boots that almost went up to her knee. She then stood in front of the mirror and brushed her hair before tying it up in a ponytail. She checked herself out and was pleased with what she saw. She noticed it was getting late, and she'd better hurry if she'd get to work in time.

"Wow, that outfit looks really good on you" she heard behind her when she walked through the hallway on her way to the door. She spun around and saw Rick leaning out through the kitchen door.

"Thanks honey" she said "I gotta go now, are you working late tonight?"

"Yeah, I have to catch up from last night, so I will be late" he said and she nodded.

"I'm sorry about that…" she started to apologize, but Rick cut her off

"It's ok, I understand you didn't want to eat alone, and there was no way you could have known I was home. Now go, so you won't be late" he said and smiled at her. Jen hurried up to him and gave him a quick kiss.

"I love you" she said and then she turned and hurried back to the door.

"Love you too" he called after her and she waved before she disappeared as she shut the door.

Jen arrived at NCIS a little while later and she avoided walking through the squad-room on her way to her office, so instead she took the elevator all the way up, and she managed to not be seen by Gibbs, she thought.

Gibbs looked up and saw her just as she walked into her office, and he smiled to himself. Last night had been fun, and he was proud with himself for not showing off too much how he felt for her; he had managed to appear as just her friend. Now he hoped she'd start to trust him more to be alone with her, and hopefully, so would Rick. He waited five minutes until he grabbed the untouched cup of coffee standing on his desk and hurried up the stairs to her office.

As always he didn't bother to knock, just threw open the door and Jen jumped where she stood at the table in front of the plasma screen on the wall, sorting files.

"Good God, Jethro!" she burst out and he smiled at her "You nearly scared me half to death"

"I didn't mean to" he checked her outfit out, she looked very sexy today. Gibbs quickly took his eyes off her clothing and raised it to her face instead, and she appeared to have noticed with what kind of look he had been checking her out. He didn't feel ashamed though, that wasn't a normal Gibbs trait. Instead he took a few steps closer to her and held out the coffee.

"You look like you could use it" he just said, and with a shaking hand she accepted it.

"Thanks" she whispered, his presence unnerved her.

"Your welcome. Jen, are you ok?" he had to ask, her behaviour got him worried, and she quickly looked up into his eyes.

"Yeah, I'm just a bit tired. I could really use some coffee right now, I was too stressed to have time for it this morning" she told him and brought the cup with the hot, dark liquid to her lips. It burned her mouth, but its strong and familiar aroma immediately started to work its magic on her mind. But when she put the cup down on the table, her hand shook violently and she tipped the cup and the coffee spread over the table.

"Jen!" Gibbs called out and quickly snatched the files on the table that had managed to avoid the river of coffee. He threw them down onto her desk before turning back to her.

"I'm sorry, I'm a bit clumsy today" she blushed for being such a fool, but Gibbs placed his hand on her shoulder.

"Don't apologise" he just told her, and she nodded, remembering the rule. "Maybe you should sit down a bit" he added and gestured for her to move on to the couch. Gibbs made sure she was sitting down before he walked to the door.

"Cynthia" he called out "We're gonna need some clean-up in here" then he shut the door and walked back to Jen.

"I'm fine, Jethro. You should go back to work" she said to him as he sat down on the couch beside her.

"Why were you shaking so much? You're not sick or something, are you?" he asked with concern, but Jen just smiled at him.

"I guess I'm just a bit stressed" she said, part of that was true, she really had a lot to do today, meetings and files that she needed to go over, and in the middle of her stressed out situation, Gibbs had come, and she just hadn't been sure how to deal with him.

Someone from the cleaning staff knocked on the door and entered her office, and Gibbs pointed at the coffee drowned table and she started to clean it up as he turned to Jen again.

"Ok, then I guess I'll just leave you alone and let you do your work" he told her and she nodded "You want me to get you another coffee? 'Because I'm going out to get one for myself and…"

"That would be nice of you, thanks" she agreed, she needed her caffeine and she didn't want to turn him down now when he had been so nice to her. Gibbs rose from the chair and walked past the girl cleaning the table and continued out of the door. Jen sighed and looked after him as he left.

He was a great guy, when he wanted to be, but she didn't think a relationship between the two of them would work out, but she still wanted them to be close friends, like they had been now for a long time. She knew now that he also just wanted them to be friends, otherwise he would have pulled something off last night, like giving her some sort of signs that he was in love with her, and he hadn't. So little from his side had been able to prove so much to her. One question remained, was she too quick to jump to conclusions? Did she just see what she wanted to see in order to be pleased, or had she seen the whole picture?

Gibbs walked past DiNozzo on his way out "Tony, I'm gonna go out to get some coffee" he told him and disappeared into an elevator.

"Gotcha boss!" Tony mumbled and turned the game back up on his computer.

It was now seven o'clock in the evening, and Jen was still sitting at her desk, working. She figured she'd be stuck here for a while, and she was starting to get hungry. But she still continued to type on her computer, until about ten minutes later when the door to her office opened and Gibbs came in, carrying a bag. He walked past her desk without a word and put the bag down on the table opposite the couch, and he sat down and started to take out food from the bag.

"How did you know I was hungry?" she asked, she hadn't moved from her desk, but she looked at him.

"Lucky guess" was his simple answer and Jen smiled before she rose from her chair and joined him at the couch.

"So, what are we eating tonight?" she wondered curiously as she sat down.

"Chicken salad, you still like that, right?" he asked as he took up a bottle of wine from the bag.

"Of course I do" she replied as he placed the food in front of her and poured her a glass of wine.

"Thank you"

They ate in silence for a while, and Gibbs glanced at her every now and then, he couldn't get over how beautiful she was, he longed to tell her, but that would ruin the trust that had started to grow between them, and he needed her to trust him as a friend, and then he would try to discreetly win her back.

"You know, you didn't have to buy me dinner two days in a row" she broke the silence

"No problem, Jen" he answered and took a sip from his wine.

"No, it's not fair, I should buy too. I have an idea" she smiled at him and it made him feel warm inside, and the always-existing urge to just take her into his arms and kiss her became stronger, but he managed to keep his feelings under control.

"Yeah, what?" he asked

"Why don't you come by our place tomorrow night for dinner" she suggested and Gibbs held in a sigh, this wasn't what he had had in mind.

"You mean, a dinner with you and Rick?" he asked and managed to keep his voice steady at the mentioning of Jen's fiancé.

"Of course with me and Rick, you don't have a problem with him now do you Jethro?" she asked suspiciously, and the old feeling that he wanted more from her than just being friends came back. Gibbs realized how important his answer to her question was, so he decided to play along.

"I don't have a problem with him, I just don't know him very well" he chose to answer and she smiled again.

"That is the exact reason why we should have dinner together, so that you two will learn to get along. Jethro, you're one of my best friends. I know how that sounds, but a person with my job builds her friendships at work, and I'm around you everyday. You are important to me, Jethro, and I'd like for my fiancé and my best friend to get along and trust each other" Jen told him, and Gibbs became both glad and frustrated by her words. It warmed that he was important to her, but hurt like hell to hear her say he was just her friend.

"I value our friendship highly, Jen. So if this is important to you, I'll do it" he answered and she gave him a big smile and was happy that he understood and accepted that they were friends.

"You have no idea how much it means to me that you will do this" she said and raised her glass and held it out towards him. He took up his own and clinked it against hers before they both drank.

"Could you come by our place tomorrow at seven?" she said and lowered her gaze to her plate and cut up a piece of chicken and stuffed it into her mouth.

"Sure" he said and hesitated to ask his next question, but chose think that she wouldn't mind if he did "Does Rick know we had a relationship?"

Jen nearly choked on her chicken and started to cough. Gibbs frowned.

"You ok?" he asked worriedly and she nodded through her coughs. While she waited for the coughing to stop, she quickly thought about what to tell him.

"Of course he knows about us" she chose to answer in order to avoid disturbing questions about why, when she in fact had no idea why she had never told Rick.

"And he's ok with having dinner with his fiancée's ex?" he asked with his eyebrows raised.

"Yeah, he knows it didn't work out between us, it belongs in the past, and in the past it will stay" her gaze met his daringly, and he understood the hint. But he told himself it was merely denial, he knew somewhere deep inside of her lay the old feelings she had once felt for him, just longing to get out and show themselves.

"I look forward to tomorrow night" he shot back, and Jen watched him to see if he showed any signs of annoyance or surprise when she had said their love belonged in the past, but he appeared to be completely cool about that, which made her certain that he was over her, that he really just wanted to be friends with her.

"Good" she said and checked her watch "Thanks for dinner, Jethro, but I need to finish work if I am to get out here before midnight" she said with a slight smile and rose from the couch.

"No problem" he replied and she walked back to her desk and started typing on her computer. Gibbs filled up her wineglass and put the trash in the bag. On his was out, he stopped at her desk and put down the glass in front of her.

"You could use this" he said and smiled.

"Oh, yeah" she agreed and both of them laughed.

"Well, I'm heading home. Good night, Jen" he said with a smile that she returned.

"Yeah, good night, Jethro" she watched him as he left her office and once he had shut the door behind him, she wondered what the hell had made her invite him over for dinner. She hoped it wouldn't be a disaster and that both men would behave themselves.

Gibbs walked out from NCIS headquarter with one thought on his mind. Why the hell had he agreed to that dinner? Well, that was in fact a simple question, to please Jen and to convince her he had no problem with her and Rick. But still, now he had to behave like her friend in front of her fiancé, who he had tried so desperately to make jealous. But now he had no choice, he needed to convince Jen a little more that he only wanted to be her friend. As he walked through the heavy Washington rain, a memory of a certain day in Paris came into his mind, a certain rainy day in Paris…

_So, what will happen at the dinner? Will Gibbs be able to control himself around Jen for much longer, or will his feelings take over him completely now when he is so close to win Jen's trust? And is Rick going to find out the truth about Jen's history with Gibbs?_

_I hoped you enjoyed the chapter and now you know the reason behind the title of this story… I will update as soon as I can… Thanks and please review!_


	5. The Dinner

_**I just saw Angel of death, and I'm gonna try to make Jen's house like we saw in that episode, if you haven't seen it, just go with what I write….**_

Jen came home pretty late that same night, but Rick wasn't home yet. She sighed and put her purse down in the hallway. She needed him home soon so she could tell him about the dinner they were having with Gibbs tomorrow night. She walked into her study and lit the lamp on her desk. It was so quiet, yet there was all this chaos in her brain, voices were screaming, voices were whispering, they told her two different things, two different names. Sometimes Rick's name was the one she heard loudest, the next second it was Gibbs. She put her hand to her forehead and sank down into an armchair.

_The past…The rainy day in Paris…Stakeout in Marseille…Blue eyes, silver hair…Leroy Jethro Gibbs…_

_The present…The bar…The proposal at the restaurant…Brown hair, green eyes…Rick John Watson…_

_Who to choose?_

Jen was pulled from her thoughts when she heard the front door open and close. She closed her eyes and heard her fiancé moving around in the hallway, then his footsteps came closer, and she opened her eyes just in time to see him standing in the doorway to her study.

"Hi honey" he said, and she nodded in response, she didn't know what to say, didn't know how to start the conversation, but she knew she had to, and she'd better.

Rick noticed something was wrong with her, so he stepped forward and sat down in the other armchair, opposite her.

"What's wrong?" he asked

"Nothing's wrong, but there's something I need to tell you" she started and she noticed Rick became tense and appeared to be on his guard "There's no need to worry" she quickly added and he instantly became calmer.

"Then what?" he questioned and she swallowed before answering.

"I have invited Gibbs for dinner at our place tomorrow night. I want you guys to get to know each other a little better" she started to explain, but Rick's shocked expression was surprising her. His eyes were widened and his mouth slightly open.

"You what?" he burst out and Jen stared at him. He took a breath and seemed to try to relax himself.

"Sorry…I just….you what?" he sounded weird; his voice was like a mixture of badly hidden shock and suppressed anger.

"I invited him for dinner, since he has been buying me dinner for two days now, I had to do something for him as well" she explained but Rick still looked shocked.

"So you invited him here?"

Jen's patience was really being tested here, why had he such a problem with Gibbs?

"Yes, I did, Rick. He's one of my best friends, and I'd love it if you'd learn to trust him like I do" she said and rose from her armchair and walked over to his and sat down on his lap.

"Will you do this for me?" she pleaded and wrapped her arms around his neck. Rick looked up into her face, her eyes asked for his approval, and he could hardly deny her to see Gibbs if she described him as just her friend.

"Sure, but only because I love you" he said and Jen smiled at him

"Good" she leaned in a kissed him.

The next evening when Gibbs came home from work, he hurried up into his bedroom to change his clothes. He didn't want to be late for the dinner at Jen's, but he thought he'd at least look presentable. He got out of the brown suit he had been wearing for work and instead he put on a black shirt and a silver grey suit jacket that Jen had once told him looked great along with his hair. To that he wore grey pants. He wanted everything to go in his favour tonight, he needed to make Rick jealous but not be too obvious in front of Jen. He needed for her to trust him completely, so when Rick would tell her he may want to be more than friends with her, she would not believe him, and Rick's jealousy could be what finally will break them up. Then she would come to him, as a friend, but she'd be won over by old memories and feelings that still may exist deep inside her heart.

Jen stood in her own closet, getting more and more convinced this was a good idea. Gibbs had acted like he really just wanted to be her friend today, and that had calmed her down very much. She hoped it would be a successful evening, and that Rick and Gibbs would learn to get along. She had put on a black cocktail dress and wore her hair slightly curly. She glanced at her engagement ring and was now more confident than ever that she had made the right choice by marrying Rick. After she had put on her high-heeled shoes she heard the doorbell ring, and she knew Rick would be too busy with the food, so she hurried down the stairs to the door.

Jen opened it and saw Gibbs standing outside, he smiled at her and she smiled back.

"Come in Jethro" she stepped aside to let him in and closed the door behind him.

"Thank you, Director" he said as he handed her a bag "I got you a little something, just to be polite"

"I didn't know you were that polite" she was surprised but accepted the gift. She reached into the bag and took up a bottle of Bourbon. A smile played on her lips.

"How did you know I was almost out of Bourbon?" she asked suspiciously, but she meant it as a joke. Gibbs took off his coat.

"Lucky guess" he said and turned to her "You look nice" he complimented

"Thanks, you too. I told you, you look good in that silver suit jacket" they stood looking at each other for a moment, until Jen managed to draw her eyes away from his enchanting ones.

"Rick's preparing the dinner in the kitchen, shall we go say hi?" she suggested, and Gibbs thought that sounded like a good idea, he had been very close to loose himself in her gaze, and to kiss her.

"Sure" he replied and together they headed towards the kitchen.

Rick had heard the door bell, he had heard Jen rushing down the stairs, and now he heard voices and laughter coming closer. He took a breath and prepared himself for meeting Gibbs. Just as he turned around, he saw Jen and Gibbs come in through the kitchen door. He forced a smile and struck out his hand to Gibbs.

"Gibbs, glad you could come" he said, knowing how false the words sounded in his own head.

Gibbs shook his hand and looked amused "Are you?" he couldn't help but to ask, but he felt Jen's eyes in his neck, and decided to play nice "Thanks for letting me come" he said instead and coolly met Rick's gaze, and the two men appeared to try and break the other in their staring competition.

"How's dinner going?" Jen asked in the following silence and watched nervously as the two men wouldn't take their eyes off each other. Rick looked away finally and turned back to the plates on the counter.

"The appetizer is soon finished" he answered and Jen nodded and turned to Gibbs

"Jethro, why don't you go and take a seat in the dining room, I'll be right behind you" she told him and he obeyed without a word. When he had disappeared, she walked up behind Rick and placed her hands on his back, rubbing it gently.

"Give him a chance" she said and felt him sigh "It's important to me" she begged and he nodded.

"Okay Jenny. You go out to him, and I'll be in any second" he replied and Jen left a kiss on the back of his head before she walked after Gibbs.

Gibbs had stopped right outside the doorway, listening to the conversation, but when he heard the clinking of Jen's heels coming closer, he quickly moved across the dining room and stood looking out through the window when she walked through the doorway.

"It's been some time since you've been here" he heard her saying, and he knew that was true

"Yeah, it has" he chose to answer "It's a beautiful house"

"Thank you"

In the reflection in the window he saw her lightening a few candles on the table. It reminded him of when they used to have dinner together in Paris. He watched her in the reflection; she looked stunning in her black dress, with her long hair in pretty curls and red lipstick. Suddenly she looked up, and their eyes met in the window for a brief second, until they both looked away when they saw Rick enter the room, carrying three plates.

"The appetizer will just be a small salad" he said and set them down on the table "Gibbs, could you open the bottle of wine, please?" he asked before returning into the kitchen.

Gibbs stepped away from the window and picked up the corkscrew. He then poured the dark red liquid into the three glasses on the table.

"Great, let's sit down and eat then" Rick exclaimed when he came back. The three of them took their seats, Jen and Gibbs next to each other on one side, and Rick opposite of Gibbs.

Gibbs looked down onto his salad; it really did look tasty, like if a professional had done it. He glanced at Jen and she had already picked up her knife and fork, so he decided he'd do the same.

"This was good, Rick" he said when he had finished chewing, and Rick looked up at from across the table.

"Thank you"

Jen smiled sweetly at her fiancé and Gibbs thought he'd start a conversation.

"So, what are you working with?" he asked politely and took a sip of his wine.

"I'm actually a chef. I mostly work evenings at a restaurant, sometimes I work in the bar. That's actually how Jenny and I met" he said and looked at her.

"So how drunk did she have to get in order to agree to go out with you?" Gibbs said and laughed at his own joke. Jen laughed as well, but Rick looked confused and didn't appear to appreciate Gibbs joke.

"That's Jethro's idea of making a joke" Jen explained and Rick forced a smile onto his lips.

"Right, I get it" he said, but he still didn't look amused.

"Actually…" Jen started and Gibbs turned his attention to her "I walked up to him at the bar and ordered Bourbon, and he started to question my taste" she smiled at the memories and Gibbs thought _'I'm still questioning you taste' _and glanced at Rick.

"I told him my ex taught me how to drink it, so why not question his taste?" she still wore the smile and glanced at Gibbs before she realized Rick didn't know they had been a couple, she hoped he didn't understand it was Gibbs she was talking about, and that Gibbs wouldn't bring it up.

They had finished their salad, and Rick said he'd go out to the kitchen and prepare the main course. Gibbs offered to help, but Rick dismissed him and left. Gibbs took a sip of his wine; he put the glass down, he didn't look at her.

"He doesn't like me very much, now does he?" it was more a statement than a question, but Jen still answered.

"Well, you two haven't exactly that much in common" she admitted and brought her own glass to her lips.

"Then why did you invite me over?" the question bothered Jen, mostly because she had no good answer to it. She took another sip of her wine while she considered her answer.

"I wanted Rick to realize he can trust you. He has been questioning your acting around me" she chose to say, and Gibbs actually understood Rick's thinking. Doesn't every man question their women's male friends?

"I see" Gibbs answered just as Rick came back from the kitchen, carrying three plates. He gently put them down in front of them, and Gibbs actually thought this looked good too, no wonder, since the man was a chef, but still.

"Looking good, Rick. What is it?" he asked, and Jen appreciated his attempts to be polite, especially since she knew very well what Gibbs could be like.

"It's roast beef and potatoes cooked in the oven" Rick answered as he placed a plate in front Jen, who smiled at him.

"I agree with Jethro, it really looks good" she said and he smiled back before he sat down on his chair.

They started eating in silence, the only sound was of the knifes and forks scraping against the plates.

"So, Gibbs" Rick finally broke the silence, and Gibbs looked up at him "How long have you been working at NCIS?"

Gibbs considered the question while he chewed "About fifteen years" he answered simply and Rick nodded

"How come you decided to become a special agent?" he continued, and Gibbs became more disturbed by this question than he had been about the first. Jen glance at Gibbs, she knew he never talked about his past and she was smart enough not to ask, but Rick didn't know him like she did.

"That's personal" Gibbs replied and daringly met Rick's gaze.

"I'm sorry" he apologized, but his eyes were just as cold as Gibbs.

"Don't apologize, it's a sign of weakness" Gibbs shot back, before he noticed Jen's looks, and he forced a smile onto his lips "It's just these rules I teach my team, and live by"

"I see" Rick said, also noticing Jen's looks, and faked a smile of his own to please her "What did you do before you joined NCIS, or is that's personal too?"

"I was a marine" Gibbs told him and he looked rather impressed.

"He was a Gunnery Sergeant in the US Marine Corps" Jen cut in and Gibbs glanced at her, but she just raised her eyebrows at him.

"Really?" Rick actually sounded rather interested in this, Gibbs noticed and sighed.

"Yeah. You sound pretty interested in the navy" he stated and Rick nodded

"I actually considered joining the marine, but I found that my passion lies in the kitchen"

Jen drank from her wine as she listened to the men's conversation about the navy, she was glad they talked about something, and actually appeared to get along on the point they were discussing.

Ten minutes later, they had all finished dinner and were simply sharing a nice, calm conversation. Gibbs and Rick had started to reach out to each other, and Rick now struggled to decide whether he should like Gibbs or not. Gibbs on the other hand just pretended to loosen up in his company; he had to prove to Jen he could be friends with her fiancé.

"I should clear the table" Rick said and rose from his chair, and so did Jen.

"I'll help you" she said, but Rick held out his hand to stop her.

"No honey, thanks but I'm fine" he dismissed her, but Gibbs rose instead when Jen sat back down.

"I can help you" he offered and picked up his own and Jen's plates. Jen looked disturbed.

"No, Jethro. You're the guest, you shouldn't do that" she complained, but Gibbs just smiled at her, and then he shot Rick a look and he nodded in approval.

"Suit yourself" Rick just said and Gibbs followed him out into the kitchen. The two men helped to put the dished in the dishwasher, while Jen sat in the dining room and played with her glass of wine.

"I'll prepare the dessert, you can go out to Jenny if you'd like" Rick said and took out some ice-cream from the freezer. But Gibbs didn't move, this would be a perfect opportunity to say something that would make Rick jealous of him and Jen. He leaned against the counter and watched Rick scoop up ice-cream.

"You know, I really appreciate you don't mentioning anything about my past with Jen" Gibbs suddenly said, and Rick looked up at him, confusion written all over his face.

"I just figured you'd be worried to let me spend so much time with her after work, considering what we had, what we used to do, you know" Gibbs continued and Rick still looked completely lost.

"What the hell are you…?" he began, but he was cut off by Jen's voice from the doorway.

"How's it going in here?" she asked and both men looked at her. Gibbs turned his gaze back to Rick.

"I should leave and let you finish that in quiet" he told him and their eyes met. Rick's still expressed confusion, but Gibbs glistened, and then without another word, he walked over to Jen and led her back into the dining room.

While he talked to Jen in the dining room, he thought about his previous conversation with Rick. Was it just his mind playing with him, or had he appeared to be completely clueless about what he had been talking about? Had Jen never told him she had been dating Gibbs? Had she been lying to them both? He glanced at her, but she merely smiled at him.

Rick looked after them, he hadn't liked that, and he sure as hell didn't trust Gibbs anymore. What the hell had he meant? What did he mean about his past with Jen? Was there something about that that Jenny had 'forgotten' to mention to him? He refused to believe Jenny had lied to him, he would ask Gibbs about this, but probably tomorrow, since he didn't want to ruin Jen's night. But his night had already been ruined, and his head was filled with questions, questions concerning Jen and Gibbs past, whatever it was, the truth worried him. He grabbed the bowels of ice-cream and walked out into the dining room to join them, and he acted like nothing was wrong.

_Oh my, what have Gibbs done? Will he tell Rick the truth that Jen failed to mention? How will Rick react when he finds out? And why didn't Jen tell him in the first place? Please wait for an update and please review!! Thanks!_


	6. Finding The Truth

"I had a great time last night; you and Rick seemed to get along fine. Maybe not as well as I would have wanted you to, but it was still nice" Jen told Gibbs the next day when they met on the upper floor by the rails.

"It was nice" he repeated and smiled slightly. Jen frowned a little and briefly wondered what was going on inside his head. But she chose not to question him; it may be more than she wanted to know. And just what may that be? What was it about him that she did not want to know? His feelings for her? How many times did she have to tell herself he just wanted to be her friend? He didn't have romantic feelings for her, not any more. He may have had once, but not any more. His voice pulled her from her chaotic thoughts, and she raised her head to look at him.

"What did you say?" she asked and his smile got wider

"I asked you what Rick thought about the dinner" he repeated, he knew it was cruel, but he couldn't help but to think about the expression Rick had worn when he had been told Gibbs shared a special past with Jen.

"He liked it, I guess" she responded "He insisted of cleaning up in the kitchen alone, so I went to bed and I guess I had already fallen asleep when he was finished"

Gibbs cell suddenly started to ring, and he glanced quickly at Jen before answering.

"Yeah, Gibbs?" Jen waited while he spoke with whoever it was.

"Be right there" he finished the conversation and hung up "That was Abby, I gotta go" he told her and she nodded and watched him walk away from her. She smiled to herself and went back into her office.

Fifteen minutes later when Gibbs exited the elevator in the squad room, he noticed someone waiting at his desk. As he came closer, he recognized the visitor as Rick.

"You still have trouble finding the Director's office?" Gibbs joked when he approached him. But Rick didn't look amused.

"I can find it just fine; thanks" he shot back coolly "I'm here to talk with you"

Gibbs put some papers down onto his desk as he held his coffee in his other hand.

"Oh yeah? About what?" he questioned, sounding calm.

"About last night. Can't we go somewhere private where we can talk?" Rick asked the moment agent DiNozzo walked up to his own desk. Gibbs met Tony's confused look and then turned his attention to Rick.

"Come on then" he sighed and led the way past Tony's desk and Rick followed him into the elevator. While inside Gibbs hit the emergency switch, and they stopped.

"Ok, talk" Gibbs demanded and took a sip from his coffee. Rick eyed him for a second before he spoke.

"What did you mean last night when you talked about your past with Jenny?" he jumped right to the point, and Gibbs wasn't surprised for the question.

"I meant the fact that we were romantically involved with each other" Gibbs stated and hid a smile at the sight of Rick's shocked expression.

"B-but…that can't be true!" he burst out and Gibbs raised an eyebrow

"Oh, it's very true. Jen and I had a relationship, we have slept together" he confirmed, that last part he plainly to annoy Rick, and he sure looked disturbed by the information.

"Oh my God" Rick whispered, almost unable to believe what he was told.

"She's pretty damn good, isn't she?" Gibbs commented

"But I asked her! I asked her if you two had been together, but she said no. She said she never was interested in you that way or that you liked her that way" Rick argued, ignoring Gibbs comment, his voice was calm, but there was a large amount of anger in it.

"Well, I asked her if she had told you about us and if you were cool with having me over for dinner. She said you knew. She lied to us both, man" Gibbs pretended to sound angry, to fool Rick that it bothered him that Jen had lied to him, while in fact, he wasn't angry at all. He couldn't be angry with Jen, not when she had actually helped him in his fight for her.

"Are you gonna confront her about it?" Rick wondered

"You're the soon to be husband, I'd say it's up to you to talk to her. She probably has a very good reason for not telling you the truth, and I just think it should be you she tells it to" Gibbs tried, he knew he couldn't confront her himself, that would ruin everything. Then she would understand he was jealous of Rick, and she would understand he was in love with her. But if Rick did it, then she would accuse him of being jealous and not trusting Gibbs. Then Gibbs would have her right where he wanted her. She would come running to her dear friend to ask for comfort, and she would be reminded of what they once had…

"You think I should talk to her?" Rick asked nervously, he was very upset with how Jen had acted; he couldn't believe she had lied to him.

"I really think you should" Gibbs encouraged him and Rick nodded. Gibbs leaned forward and hit the emergency switch again, and the elevator started to move. He pressed a button and asked Rick where he was getting off.

"I'm going to the ground floor, I have to get in to work" he answered and Gibbs pressed the button for him.

"Good luck with the talk" he said before he stepped off into the squad room. He took a sip from his coffee as he walked to his desk.

"Who was that, boss?" Tony asked him as he passed him.

"Director Shepard's fiancé" Gibbs explained and Tony raised his eyebrows.

"I didn't know she was getting married" Tony said thoughtfully

"Gee, what a surprise" Gibbs said sarcastically.

Later in the evening, Jen was sitting in the couch in her living room, reading a book and just relaxing after a hard day of work. She heard the front door open and close, and knew it was Rick that came home. With a smile she rose from her seat and made her way out to the foyer.

"Hi honey" she greeted him "I didn't expect you home this early" there was surprise in her voice, but she wasn't sad he was home, quite the contrary.

"Yeah, well I needed to see you" he replied, though he was not looking at her. Jen frowned at the sound of his voice; it wasn't happy, or even flirtatious, it was more like he was suppressing something, like annoyance or anger, she couldn't make out which it was.

"Honey what's wrong? Has something happened?" she asked with concern, she had never seen Rick like this, which worried her even more when she tried to figure out what on earth had made him like this.

"Yes, something is wrong, Jenny!" he sounded frustrated and held up both of his hand into the air. He finally looked at her, and there where pain in his eyes, a pain Jen couldn't understand.

"Well, I'm not a mind-reader, so you're just gonna have to tell me what it is" her voice was still calm, but on the inside, her feelings were in uproar.

"Let's go inside" he demanded and walked off into the living where she just had been. Jen was right behind him, but he sped up his pace and got unnerved by the furious clinking from Jen's heels behind him. At last the reached the living room and Jen decided to sit down on the couch where she just had been sitting. She waited patiently for him to start talking, but he did not sit down. He stood a few feet away from her, and when he felt ready to talk, he turned to look at her.

"You lied to me, Jenny" he started with, and Jen gave him a confused look, something she wished she hadn't done.

"Don't pretend like you don't know what I'm talking about, because I know you do" he added furiously but she still looked rather lost.

"What the hell are you talking about? When did I lie to you?" Jen honestly didn't understand what he meant, she couldn't remember what she might have done that could have gotten him this upset.

"You lied to me when you said you never had been romantically involved with Gibbs!" he almost shouted the words, and then it came back to Jen. Right, that. She had said she hadn't had a relationship with Gibbs, when she indeed had.

"How do you know this?" she asked, there was no point in denying, she should have told him long ago.

"Gibbs told me. He asked me whether I found it ok to have dinner with my fiancée's ex" Rick explained, his voice was cold, but calm as he spoke. But the coolness made Jen shiver. "I didn't understand what the hell he was talking about, so I confronted him about it today, and he told me the truth, which you had obviously failed to tell me"

Jen was silent, she had nothing to say in her defence, and she knew it had been wrong of her, but she had just wanted to protect him.

"You know what else I found out today?" he asked, and she shook her head, not even sure she wanted to know.

"You lied to him too, you had told him I knew about you two" when Jen finally dared to meet his gaze, she saw how hurt he had been by her lies.

"Why did you do it? Why did you lie?" he asked more softly, but the cold refused to leave his voice, now accompanied by the hurt.

"I guess I just wanted to protect you…" she gave voice to her thoughts. She didn't know what other reasons had pushed her into her decisions "I wanted you to trust him, because he's my friend, and it would be awful if my future husband didn't trust a man who's one of my best friends" she hoped that explanation would do, but he appeared to be even more angry after she had spoken.

"You sure that's it?" he sounded like he didn't believe her, he sounded doubtful.

"Why else would I lie to you?" she questioned, her hands shaking lightly where they rested on her thighs.

"I don't know. Maybe you did because you're not over him. Maybe you needed to protect me from finding out the truth because you didn't want me to figure out you still love him"

Jen sat like frozen after that accusation. How could he think she would cheat on him? She would never even dream of having an affair while in a serious relationship.

"How dare you implicate that I'm cheating on you?" she was both hurt and pissed off by his words, but there was something in what he said…

"Come on Jen! Are you really that stupid?" he called out, now furious again. Jen's jaw dropped in shock over his words "You have known all the time how he feels for you. You don't have to be a genius to see he's still in love with you"

Jen stood up at his words, challenging him with her green eyes that almost exploded with anger at that.

"He is not in love with me!" she denied, matching his fury "We are just friends, nothing more"

"Oh yeah. Can you honestly tell me you are over him? Can you tell me you don't have any romantic feelings for him anymore? Can you do that, Jenny?" he asked, still staring at her.

There were chaos in Jen's brain; everything was just so screwed up. She didn't know what she wanted, how she truly felt for either of the men. Was there still a part of her heart that, after all these years, still belonged to Gibbs? Or was it just a happy memory that still clung onto her, refusing to let go, but was not more than just that, a memory of her old feelings? Or had she found her match in the man standing opposite her right know? The man who was hers here and now, and was not intending on going anywhere without her by his side?

"I don't know. I need some air, and time to think" she said and shook her head before she walked past him, a shocked and hurtful expression on his face.

"Don't wait up" she added when she turned around to briefly glance at him in the door way. She couldn't stand to look at him, not without being drawn back to him, but she couldn't do that, not until she had figured out how she really felt.

The front door slammed shut behind her, and Rick sank down onto the couch. He buried his face in his hands and prayed she would come back to him.

Jen stood outside in the chilly night air. She was leaning against her car, she needed to get away from here, but she didn't know where to go. A thought hit her, and she found it would be worth a shot. She unlocked the car and drove off, with a heading in her mind.

_Where is Jen going? And who will she eventually choose? What effect did Rick's words have on her, and how will it affect her choice? _

_Ok, that will be it for this chapter. But I've already got the next one in my mind, so I'm just gonna find time to write it down. That will probably not be so hard though, so I promise to update asap! Please review and thanks for reading?_


	7. Broken Hearts

_Thanks to all for taking such an interest in my story! __I'm truly flattered by all your reviews!_

Jen knocked on a door. It was freezing outside and she really wished she had brought a jacket. She hoped he would be home, since she had nowhere else to go, she couldn't go home to Rick just yet, she needed to figure out how she truly felt at first. No one opened, but when she peered in through the window she noticed the lights were on.

Without hesitation she tried the door handle, it opened up easily, typical him not to lock. She stepped in, and contrary from feeling like she was doing something wrong, a comfortable warmness came over her the moment she stepped over the threshold. She inhaled and was rewarded with the dry smell of saw dust. She took a few steps forward, her heels echoed in the silence. She knew exactly where to find him, and she took another deep breath before walking towards the door leading down to the basement.

The moment Jen stepped out on the staircase, she saw him. He was working on his boat, naturally. She smiled to herself for a brief second before she gathered the courage it took for her to continue walking down the stairs. For some reason, the instinct to turn around and abandon the place was incredibly strong, but she managed to ignore the urge and continued to walk down the stair.

Gibbs looked up when he heard a sound, and got surprised to see Jen softly walking down the stairs to his basement. He put down the tool he was holding and wiped off his hands on an already dirty towel. He stood leaning against the counter and even in the dim light he saw her hesitate.

"Jenny" he greeted her and glanced at her as she had stopped at the end of the stairs

"Jethro" she said back, and he made a slight smile at her response. Gibbs looked at her, expecting her to say something more.

"Why are you looking at me that way?" she questioned, his glittering blue gaze unnerved her.

"I'm just wondering what you came here for. I'm waiting for you to say something" he explained and turned around so he was facing the counter "Bourbon?"

"I'm not exactly sure why I'm here…Yes, thank you" she answered him, but she did not move from her spot. Gibbs glanced at her before he found two coffee mugs he could pour the liquid into.

"Are those clean?" Jen questioned, referring to the mugs.

"Clean enough, I guess. Hey, if you want to, you could always go upstairs and grab a clean one" he suggested, and looked at her, holding the bottle of Bourbon hesitantly over her mug, asking her with his eyes whether or not he should pour.

"It's ok, I can take the mug" she said and Gibbs poured it into her cup. He held it out for her to come and get it, but she still didn't move an inch.

"Ok, let's do this again; why are you here, Jen?" he asked again, now getting slightly annoyed by her behaviour. She bit her lip before she finally took a few steps forward, closing the distance between them a little.

"You told him" she said, her mind was spinning, she wasn't sure whether she would be glad or sad he had, she didn't know who to choose.

"Told who what?" He asked and was through waiting for her to take her drink so he stepped up to her instead. When he was standing close enough, he held out her drink, and she accepted the mug, holding it with both her hands.

"You told Rick about our history together" her voice surprised her, it's wasn't angry, or accusative at all, it was soft, like if she wasn't blaming him at all for telling him. Didn't she? Had she been relieved when Rick had confronted her earlier tonight? And in that case, why? Was is because she was now free to choose between the two men, or simply because she wouldn't have to bother lying to him anymore?

"Well, you had told me he knew, so I didn't know it was a secret" he shot back and turned away from her, going back to the counter.

"Sorry I lied to you" she apologized and he nodded.

"That's why you came? To apologize?"

"Partly, but I guess mostly because I had nowhere else to go" at the sight of his questioning look, she added "Rick and I had a fight, over you actually"

"Me? Why did you guys fight over me?" Gibbs asked, and once again made his way up to her. He stopped so close to her that if he put out his hand, he would touch her.

"He… Rick…he… he thinks…" she stuttered, when he stood this close to her…when he looked into her eyes like that… Jen took a deep breath and tried to focus, she even stepped back a few paces to get some space.

"He accused you of wanting more than friendship from me" she said instead, she hadn't been able to say 'He thinks you're in love with me'.

"I see. And what did you tell him?" Gibbs wondered, she probably had no idea how right Rick had been.

"I told him he was wrong" the words almost got stuck in her throat as she spoke, at her own place it had sounded so obviously right when she had said them, but now it sounded like a bad lie.

Gibbs suddenly reached out and put his mug down on the nearest thing, he then stepped up to her again.

"Is that what you really think, Jen?" he asked and looked into his eyes. Jen was shocked by what she could see in his eyes. She was shocked by the whole situation; it was almost like déjá vu. The closeness, the look in his eyes…all that was missing was the rain, and it would be exactly like that rainy day in Paris. Just like back then, she knew what was on his mind.

"No…" she answered his question. She didn't fight it when she felt his hands take the cup from her fingers and putting it down on the nearest object. She felt his arms slid around her waist, and she went along. The comfort and warmth he provided made her dizzy; the whole situation was so…seductive. Her heart told her to play along in the game, just get lost in the heat of the moment, but her mind whispered this was wrong of her; she shouldn't be in the arms of Gibbs when she had a fiancé waiting for her at home. But the small words of her conscious were drowned by the fire burning in her heart. The long lost and forgotten feelings for Gibbs re-surfaced and she found herself wrapping her arms around his neck.

Gibbs smiled at her, and she suddenly became aware of her own smile that was playing on her lips. She blushed when he looked at her like that, with that special sparkle in his eyes that told her she was the only one for him. They stood still in each others arms and Jen felt her heart beat in rhythm with his. Her fingertips played with a streak of his hair as she felt his hand slid down her back and stopping on the small of her back.

"This reminds me of…"

"Paris" he cut her off and Jen nodded "That rainy day in the park"

"Yes, that day" she whispered as she noticed his face coming closer to her own. Before she knew it, before she even had a chance to pull away, their lips met. The kiss was tender at first, but as Gibbs tightened his grip around her by moving his hands upwards her back, the kiss became deeper. Before she even was aware of her own actions, she had opened her mouth to allow him in. This was it for Jen. She completely gave in for him and the passion that roared through her entire body. Gibbs felt her actions, both what she did with her mouth and with her hands, becoming more heated and forceful, which made him smile through the kisses. Jen brought him forward, forcing herself to back. She stopped when she hit the wall at the end of the staircase. Gibbs had her pinned against the wall and pulled his face a few inches away from her face.

"Don't stop…" she whispered breathlessly and he smiled at her.

"Just gotta catch my breath, trust me, I won't stop this for a while" he promised her and she gave up a little laugh which turned into a moan when he put his lips against her throat. She trailed her hands up and down his back and she pulled her leg up and wrapped it around his. She could easily anticipate what would come next, but she couldn't think clear enough to determine it this was right or wrong.

Jen's eyes fluttered open. At first she was confused, and then she became aware of that she was lying in a very comfortable bed, which wasn't her own bed, and she was naked. Then it all came back to her; the kisses it all had started with, their way up to his bedroom, the removal of clothing… Jen closed her eyes again, thinking about what had happened after that. Sure he had been absolutely amazing, but there was just something about this whole situation that unnerved her. She tensed a little when she suddenly became aware of his arms around her body. His embrace was warm and comfortable; under the sheet she felt his body was still sweaty.

"Jen? You awake?" she heard him ask, he had obviously felt her tense. She did not know if she was ready to face him just yet, since she still didn't know what she truly wanted. But she couldn't ignore his calling.

"Yeah, I am" she whispered softly to him in the half-dark room. The curtains were drawn, but a few streaks of the early sunlight shone in, one off the streaks lay across her hair, making it shimmer like red gold.

Gibbs lay behind her and admired the beauty she provided. Her long, red hair was messy, but in a very sexy way, her milky white skin was warm and shimmering, and he had always enjoyed the slenderness of her body, the beautiful figure she carried up with such a grace.

"You are beautiful" he complimented quietly, his voice soft as he slid his hand down over her stomach. Jen swallowed nervously, she didn't understand, it had felt so right last night when they had kissed, but why didn't it feel that now? A part of her would love to lie here with him forever, but she regrettably feared that was plainly because of all the good memories she had of him, and not because she loved him here and now. The bigger part of her told her this was wrong, she couldn't be doing this, she shouldn't be doing this. By the time she had made up her mind what to do, she felt Gibbs lips against her neck. The touch was seductive, but she knew what she had to do.

"Jethro…" she whispered, suddenly not so sure she had made the right choice.

"Mmm?" he said through the kisses he left on her skin.

Jen just got so frustrated because she couldn't make up her mind that she simply rolled over, away from him, and on a safe distance, sitting near the end of the bed, she finally turned to face him. She saw the confused look on his face, and knew how this must have appeared.

"Jen…what…?" Gibbs stuttered, he was way too confused to even make up a question.

"Sorry, I just…I don't know what I should do anymore" she sighed and closed her eyes as she pulled the sheet tighter around her body.

"You don't have to cover yourself for me, Jen" he assured her, but that was the final drop for her.

"Yes, I do Jethro!" she called out and opened her eyes furiously "This should not have happened at all"

"Not have happened? What the hell is going on with you, Jen?" he asked, shock and hurt staining his voice and appearance "If I remember correctly, it was both of us that chose to do this"

"I know, but I'm just so confused right now" she tried to explain, she knew she was hurting him, and she felt extremely bad for what she did, but she had no choice but to do this.

"You told me you loved me last night, and now you're acting like you hate me. Which one is the truth, Jen? Do you love me or do you hate me?" his voice was not expressing anger; it was soft, careful, and full of underlying hurt.

This was it; this was the moment when she needed to make her choice. The choice she made was gonna affect her entire future, on whether she would spend it with Gibbs or Rick.

"I don't hate you" she started and her mind and heart worked fast to determine who her love belonged to "But I don't think I love you either" after she had spoken those words, the room became completely silent. Jen wasn't looking at him; she couldn't bare to stare into the eyes of someone she probably had broken the heart of.

"What the hell are you still doing here?" his soft and pained voice suddenly broke the silence, and Jen forced herself to raise her gaze to meet his. She became devastated when she discovered just how deeply she had hurt him, and there was no way of taking it back now.

"I don't know" she whispered, she felt the strong urge to reach out and comfort him, but she doubted he would appreciate the gesture.

"Then go" the softness in his voice was gone and had been replaced with coldness that accompanied the hurt.

"I'm sorry" she apologized, but he just nodded towards the door, telling her to get her stuff and leave. Jen did as told, but she decided to drop the sheet on the bed as she went up to get her clothes. But when she glanced at him, she noticed he wasn't looking at her at all. She quickly put on her clothes and walked to the doorway, where she finally turned around.

"I really am sorry, Jethro. But this was not fair to Rick" she said, and he looked up at her.

"Rick? So you really are gonna choose him over me?" he already figured that, but it felt much worse to hear her actually say it.

"He is my fiancé, he has proven his love to me by asking me to marry him, something you never did" she told him as she straightened out her hair with her fingertips before tying it up into a ponytail.

"What about your love for him?" Gibbs questioned, resting his body on his elbow as he looked at her.

"I said yes, didn't I?"

"Well, if you love him like you say you do, then why did you sleep with me?" he said coolly, noticing how ugly their fight was becoming.

Jen stared at him, not knowing what to respond. How dared he bring that up? But how could she tell him it had been a mistake without hurting him more than she had already done? But then again, his last comment hadn't been that nice and considerate to her either…

"I came to you because I felt lost and in need of help from a friend. What happened last night was just a big mistake, a mistake I deeply regret" she shot back at him, but it was not true what she said. She had enjoyed every second of it, every touch, and every kiss. He had made her feel like Rick had never been able to make her feel; there had been a complete different kind of wholeness with Gibbs than with Rick.

"Obviously our little 'mistake' meant much more to me than it did to you" he replied and she turned her gaze away from him "I love you Jen. That's why I did this, why I kissed you and brought you to my bed. I wanted you to realize you feel the same" he finally admitted and Jen felt her eyes being drawn back to him. His appearance told her he was being sincere, but she had already made her choice.

"I'm sorry, but I don't. I just got lost in the heat of the moment" she explained and decided it was time to leave before she changed her mind again "I have to go now. Bye Jethro" she added before she quickly turned and left the room. Seconds later, Gibbs heard the front door slam shut, and she was gone.

"Bye Jenny" he whispered after her. Fury was still boiling inside of him, but it was soon replaced by hurt as he rolled over to lie on his back. He sighed and glanced at the pillow where her head had just been lying. He trailed his hand across it, and a single, long red hair met his fingertips. He picked it up and looked at it for a second before closing his hand around the hair. He rolled over to the side where she had just lain, it was still warm from her body and when his head landed on her pillow, it smelled of her shampoo. He was still tired, and decided he would sleep here with her scent and warmth surrounding him, one last time before he would change the sheets and let go of her.

Jen sat in her car outside her house, she had just gotten there, but she was still thinking about Gibbs. Now when she thought about it, how could she not have seen he had feelings for her? She should have known, it could have stopped all this from happening. She also knew she could never tell Rick about what she had done, she just hoped Gibbs wouldn't either, then she would be left without alone, going from having two men to zero. She just hoped he would not.

Jen escaped from her car and walked up to her front door. She felt confident about her choice as she opened the door, and was surprised to see Rick stand right on the other side, his hand reached out to grab the door handle.

"Jenny! Thank God, where have you been?" he sounded relived to see her, and she felt herself smile.

"I spend the night at the office, I needed some time to think over my life" she told him, there was no need for him to know the truth; this was the best for him.

"And? What did you come up with?" he asked worriedly, but Jen took a step closer to him and wrapped her arms around his neck.

"I love you" she exclaimed, and Rick smiled and she felt his arms on her back, pulling her into a tight hug.

"I love you too" he replied and kissed her passionately. After the kiss they went back to hugging, and Jen closed her eyes. She told herself this was for the best; she would be fine with Rick. But at the same time, she felt something was missing, a piece of her heart was scattered, and it was not a small piece…

_Will Jen's heart ever be mended? How easily will Gibbs be able to move on from her betrayal? How do they react when they meet at the office and being forced to work together?_

_I will update asap, but in the meantime I hope you are all well and I wish you a happy weekend!! Please review!!_

_Emma_


	8. Agent And Director

The next morning, Jen stood in the bathroom and stared at herself in the mirror. She pulled her fingers through her long, red hair and sighed. Well, she knew now that she couldn't change her mind, she doubted Gibbs still loved her after what she had just done to him. This meant she had to stay with Rick and learn to live with the pain that ached in her heart, but it was bearable. But she did not know if she could handle going in to work this morning. That meant she would have to face him, and she didn't know what was gonna happen, how he would act. She reached out and picked up a comb and pulled it through her hair. She had no choice but to go, she knew that, she couldn't stay home just because she was afraid she might run into him. This had been her choice; she could have chosen Gibbs, if only she had had the guts and the feeling that it was right, which she didn't have. But then again, why did she feel so miserable right now if she had made the right choice?

Before she could find her answer to the question, her thoughts were interrupted by a knock on the door.

"Jenny, honey?" Rick's voice travelled in through the solid wooden door.

"Yes?" she answered him.

"You've been in there for a long time now, is everything ok?" he asked, and she closed her eyes. Typical him to be so caring and overprotective of her.

"I'm fine, I'll be out in a second" she said and heard him walk off. She once again looked at her reflection and realized she had been in here for fifteen minutes, but she still hadn't put on any make-up or even brushed her teeth. No doubt she would come in late this morning.

Five minutes later she escaped the bathroom and disappeared into her closet. She didn't put much effort into choosing clothes today, she was not in the mood and since she had no important meetings, she may as well look casual.

She grabbed her briefcase with NCIS files and went down the stairs to the foyer, where she met up with Rick.

"Hey, there you are" he exclaimed and she forced a smile.

"Yes, and I really have to go, or I'll be late" she told him and walked past him and grabbed her coat.

"Ok" he said, confused by the expression she wore, she wasn't the usual loving, sweet Jenny, she seemed down and appeared to have something bothering her. But Rick didn't want to ask, not now when she was running late, it could wait until tonight.

He opened his mouth to ask when she'd be home, but she cut him off by saying "Bye honey" before she slammed the door shut behind her. Well outside, she sighed, knowing he had had something to tell her, but she just couldn't deal with him right now.

Twenty minutes later Jen walked past Cynthia's desk.

"Good morning Director. Can I get you some coffee?" she said and Jen stopped in front of her desk.

"Good morning Cynthia. Yes please, I could use some coffee" she answered before she continued to the door to her office. When she placed her hand on the door handle, she saw in her mind Gibbs waiting for her inside. Jen shook her head and opened the door. The office was empty; she closed the door and sat her briefcase down on the table. She sighed and went over to the window to look out over the navy-yard. The sky was completely could-free and there was almost no wind to speak of, in other words it was a beautiful day. There was a knock on the door and Cynthia entered the office as Jen turned around.

"Thank you Cynthia" she said as her assistant placed the coffee on her desk.

"Was there anything else, ma'am?" she asked politely, but Jen shook her head.

"No thank you. Just get me the new files as soon as they come in" Jen ordered and Cynthia nodded.

"Of course ma'am" and with those words, Cynthia left the office and shut the door behind her.

Jen did not move, she stood by the window, looking out over the room. She glanced at her computer, she was not in a work-mood, but she had no choice but to get on with it. She pulled out her chair and sat down, reaching out for her coffee.

Gibbs stepped out from the elevator in the squad-room, carrying a cup of coffee. He had been close to buying two cups, out of habit, one for himself and one for Jen. Then he remembered everything, it always hurt so much when he was reminded of how she had treated him, the way she had broken them up. He could still recall when she had whispered she loved him in the middle of that night, and he had believed her. Her words had sounded sincere, and he had trusted her to hold on to them even when the dawn had come. But she obviously hadn't done so; she had mysteriously changed her mind regarding who she loved. He also knew there was no point in fighting with Rick over her now; he didn't have a chance anyway so he may as well give up his tries.

At noon, Jen had decided it was time for a break, so she stepped out from her office and went over to the railing where she could get a good look over the squad-room. She hadn't slept well the previous night, so she was holding a fresh cup of coffee in her hand. She took a sip from the hot liquid and then her gaze found Gibbs. Once again she thought it had been the right choice to marry Rick, a romance with someone in the office would never have worked, she told herself. Just then, Gibbs raised his gaze and found hers. She felt bad for being caught watching him when she probably should not have. But she noticed he couldn't take his eyes from hers, so she lifted her hand slightly and gave him a small wave. With mixed feelings she noticed he waved back and didn't appear to be bothered at all. She was glad that he wasn't suffering for what she had done, but she also couldn't help but to be sad by the fact that he had appeared to get over her so quickly, but as long as his pain was spared… Jen quickly cut off her thoughts when she noticed he was coming up the stairs toward her. She sighed and took a quick sip of her coffee before he approached her.

"Morning Director" he greeted her, the formality tipped her off for a second, but she quickly adjusted to the situation. Up close she saw a slight tension on his face, meaning he wasn't as untouched by their argument as he appeared to at a distance.

"Agent Gibbs" she replied politely "How's your case going?"

"It's going alright, but there is a little chat with the FBI that I was hoping you could handle" he begged of her, and she replied with a nod.

"Sure, that all you wanted?" she questioned, and he raised his eyebrows.

"Yeah, that's all" he responded, and she bit her lip.

"You don't have to be so cold with me, 'cause I was kind of hoping we could go back to how we were before you came to know of Rick, you know, friends" at the mentioning of her fiancé's name, she saw him tense and his eyes suddenly became cold as ice.

"We have never been just friends, Jen" his voice matched the coolness of his eyes "Don't you see? We were either lovers or separated by thousands of miles, but we never were friends, and you know why that is?" he asked her

"Why don't you enlighten me?" she argued

"Very well, because we shouldn't. We should either be a couple or nothing at all, and you have made your choice" he told her and his behaviour shocked her.

"So we should just be Agent and Director then?" she couldn't believe this, they shared too much to just forget their history, which apparently was what he wanted them to do.

"Yes, it's too hard for me to pretend something else" as he said this, it suddenly hit her. Jen understood why he had acted like he had, it wasn't because he wasn't bothered, it was because he was. It had all been an act in which he had pretended in order to lessen his own pain, but she had just been too stupid to see it, and now she had tore up his wounds.

"I get it" she said in a low voice, but the look on his face told here everything.

"Do you really? No you don't. At least you have someone in your life, unlike me. But I thought I had you, until you betrayed me. Now I want nothing to do with you, other than you being me boss, which I can do anything about" Gibbs said angrily, and it was Jen's time to feel as humiliated and hurt as he had been the other morning when she had left him.

"Very well, special agent Gibbs, then I suggests you return to work" she put on her most Director-ish tone of voice and straightened her neck.

"I will, Director" he responded and abruptly turned away from her to walk down the stairs back to his desk.

"I look forward to reading your report" she called after him but he just glared at her before giving orders to his team.

Jen sighed before furiously returning to her office. Well in there, she collapsed onto her chair and closed her eyes. Now she had really screwed up. Not just her relationship with Gibbs was ruined, but perhaps her entire life. What exactly made her think that was a mystery to her, but at this moment she didn't really have the strength to consider her thoughts.

_Will Jen and Gibbs ever be able to mend their broken relation? How will the wedding go, and will Gibbs __attend the wedding? How do all Jen's decisions affect her life, and does it turns out the way she truly wants?_

_Well, you will have the answers in the next chapter, when it's time for the big wedding between Jen and Rick… I'll update as soon as I can, thanks for reading. _

_Emma_


	9. Ripped Wedding Dress And A Broken Heart

Jen could not believe how fast these past weeks had gone. It was already time for her wedding day. She thought back on the time that had been since the night she had accidentally slept with Gibbs. Director and agent, they had said they would only be from now on, and so they had been. They had both managed to keep up their appearance and pretend. Only once she had been close to slip her act. No, she corrected herself, she had been close to slip the act every time she met him, but one time she had been really, really close to start talking about them and their relationship. But she had never been able to stop thinking about him. Every night before she fell asleep, the man lying next to her was not the last thing she thought of before she drifted off to sleep; it was Gibbs face that always travelled into her mind, softly smiling at her and his soothing voice made her every-night lullaby. All this time, she hadn't completely understood what these visions meant, not even now, on the day of her wedding; she understood what her feelings for him were.

Rick was not at home, he believed it was bad luck for the groom to see the bride before the wedding, so he had slept at a friend's house. The wedding was to be held outdoors, on a lawn in a beautiful park. It was only after she had decided the place for the wedding she realized what it reminded her off, and why she had felt so drawn to it. It reminded her of the rainy day in Paris with Gibbs, the park they had kissed in.

Right now, Jen was dressed in a strapless bra and panties; she would soon put on her dress. She went up to the bedroom window and looked out at the sky; it was a bit cloudy, but she hoped they would be able to avoid rain. Otherwise it was pretty warm outside, it wasn't chilly at least, and she would easily be able to wear her dress without freezing to death. Speaking of the dress, it was almost time to leave, and she needed to put in on now. She went to her closet, and her dress hung on the door, looking absolutely amazing.

Jen smiled to herself as she brought it down. She slowly slipped her body into the light fabric, and pulled up the zipper. It felt perfect. She walked over to the large mirror and looked at her reflection. The dress was snow-white and reached down to her feet. There were no straps over her shoulders and it sat tightly across her chest, holding it up. The fabric was silky and shimmered so beautifully Jen had to smile at her own appearance. Her make-up was already on, her eye lids had a white eye-shadow on them, and the black mascara framed her eyes in an impressive way. Her lips were painted deep red and her hair was slightly curled and all that was missing now was the little crown of white flowers she would be wearing around her head.

The guest list included member of hers and Rick's families, their friends and also people working at NCIS, like Cynthia Sumner, Tony DiNozzo, Tim McGee, Dr Mallard and, hopefully, Jethro Gibbs. Plus a couple of other agents Jen had invited. Ziva David and Abby Sciuto would be her maids of honor.

Suddenly she heard a car honking outside her house, and she realized it was time to go. She hurried down the stairs as quickly as her heels allowed her. On the counter in the foyer lay her crown and she carefully put it on her head. Perfect, she thought and couldn't wipe the smile off her face. She left the house and stepped into the car, her driver smiled at her as he held her door open for her.

"You look amazing, Director Shepard" he complimented her and she thanked him before he closed the door.

As they drove, Jen thought about what would happen when they reached the park; she would get married, to Rick. Suddenly her smile disappeared, leaving her as confused and lost as she had been a few weeks ago when she had tried to choose between Rick and Gibbs. She became awkwardly aware of that she had been thinking so much of Gibbs since she had made her choice. What was worse was that she had even pictured it was Gibbs, and not Rick, who kissed her good night ever evening, she was still dreaming about the night when they had made love, and in her mind she often travelled back to the days they had spent together in Paris. She swallowed the great lump that had begun to build in her throat, suddenly very unsure that her final choice was the right choice.

"Here we are now, ma'am" her driver exclaimed, and Jen's head shot up and she glanced out the windows of the car. They were indeed at the park, and in the parking lot she saw Ziva and Abby waiting to escort her to the alter. She let a little smile onto her lips as she looked at her maids of honor. The girls looked so different than usual in their dresses, especially Abby, who had her own special Goth style. But they looked very beautiful in their deep blue dresses in the same silky material as Jen's dress, but theirs were a little shorter, only reaching down to their knees, but was carried up beautifully by the broad straps over their shoulders. Both Ziva's and Abby's hair was tied up in a bun, Jen was a little disturbed by the tattoo on Abby's neck, but she still thought her forensics specialist looked absolutely amazing.

Jen stepped out from the car, and the girls immediately approached her. Ziva handed her the bouquet of white flowers that matched the flowers in her hair, and Jen accepted them.

"Jenny, you look wonderful!" Ziva exclaimed with a bright smile, and Abby agreed.

"You really do" she said and nodded.

"Thank you, you two look awesome too" Jen complimented back. She took a deep breath and tried to ease the sudden dizziness that came over her. She was finally going to walk down the aisle, she was finally getting married.

"Are you ready to do this, Director?" Abby asked her with a smile, but Jen shook her head.

"Abby, we're not in the office" she reminded her "And you're my maid of honor, call me Jenny"

"Fine, are you ready, Jenny?" Abby repeated her question, and Jen nodded this time.

"Yes, I am. Let's go ladies!" she exclaimed, though her voice lacked all the excitement and happiness a bride to be ought to have.

The lawn on which the wedding was to be held lay nearby, and Jen could see all the guests sitting and waiting and she wondered briefly on whether Gibbs was there.

Ziva and Abby walked a little bit ahead of her, and when they walked down the aisle, music started to play. As Jen approached the aisle, she thought about how beautiful it was, there were flowers on the fences around the area, and lots of flowers behind the alter. When she was in the middle of the aisle, she finally dared to lay her eyes on the groom, and she was shocked when she saw Gibbs standing there. She blinked once, and the image abruptly changed to Rick standing at the alter, waiting for her. That was when she realized she was about to make the biggest mistake of her life. She came to a halt for a brief second, and then she realized where she was, and continued to walk until she reached Rick. He was still smiling at her, but she didn't return it, instead she leaned over to him and whispered in his ear "I need to talk to you"

"Sure honey, but can't we take it after the ceremony?" he whispered back

"No, we can't. I need to say this now" she argued, and he held up his hand to the priest to tell him to hold in, and them he dragged her with him aside from the alter.

"What is it?" he asked, his voice was full of concern.

"I can't do this, Rick" she said desperately, and his eyes widened in shock.

"I'm so sorry, but I can't marry you" she felt so bad for doing this, but it was the best.

"Ok, so what? You wanna postpone the wedding?" he asked, not able to comprehend that what she wanted was to break up.

"No, this is gonna be incredibly hard for me to say, and even harder for you to hear" she started, but judging by the look on his face, he already knew what she wanted to tell him.

"You're dumping me" he stated, and Jen looked down before she finally raised her gaze and met his. He had the same expression Gibbs had had when she had left him after that night; she saw the same hurt in his eyes as she had in Gibbs.

"I wish it had been that simple, but I'm afraid the situation is more complicated than that" she said sadly, but Rick immediately understood.

"You have someone else" he realized "Let me guess, Gibbs"

"I don't have him, but I gave away my heart to him many years ago. I'm sorry, but no one will ever be able to take his place. Our marriage just wouldn't be happy if I can't love you with all my heart" she explained, and Rick nodded sadly.

"If this it what you want, then so be it. I have had a wonderful time with you Jenny, but I hate it that it has to end here. I won't stay in touch; I don't want anything to do with you anymore, but you should know that I really love you, and now you have really hurt me" he said, voice full of hurt, and Jen couldn't argue with him, she deserved to see and hear this pain in him "But go, go find Gibbs and tell him how you really feel for him, I guess you're destined to be with him" he added lightly.

"Ok, good bye Rick, just know that I did love you too, and if Gibbs hadn't been here, we could have been the perfect couple" she said and kissed his cheek before she threw her bouquet to Ziva, who looked very confused as she caught it, and then she ran down the aisle, away from the wedding to go find the love of her life.

"What just happened?" Ziva asked confused and stared at Rick, along with all the other guests who did not understand what was going on.

"The wedding is cancelled, the bride has made her choice" he said to the stunned audience, and then he walked down the aisle himself, broken from his heartbreak, but glad she had been honest with him, and he respected her choice.

By the time Jen reached Gibbs house, the rain had started to pour. She escaped the car, and ran up his drive way and up to his front porch. Only during that short run, she got completely soaked. Her dress was heavy from the water and her skin was wet, her hair was soaked and the crown of flowers lay glued to her head. But she didn't care. She opened the door without knocking, and just headed straight to the basement door. When she stepped out onto the staircase, she saw he was working on his boat again, and she smiled at the sight of him.

"Jethro" she said, and he immediately turned his gaze upon her. He sighed but didn't put down his tool.

"What are you doing here, Jen? Shouldn't you be at your wedding? Or have you come to convince me to go?" he questioned, his voice was offensive, and she knew he was still mad her.

"No, I cancelled the wedding" she told him as she descended the stairs. He wasn't looking at her; he just continued to work on the wood.

"Did you now?" he said and didn't seem to care much.

"I did indeed" she agreed, starting to get annoyed with his rude attitude.

"What happened? You realized he wasn't good enough for you, and now you have come to me for comfort?" his voice was dry and without emotion, and she decided it was time to tell him the truth of her visit.

"No, I realized it do not love him, my heart belong to someone else, that's why I'm here" she told him, and now his hands froze in his actions, but he still didn't look at her.

When she realized he would not respond, she approached him from behind. She stood close, her front almost pressing against his back, and Gibbs felt her wet body against his own, and he shivered slightly. He twitched as she wrapped her arms around his waist.

"I love you Jethro" she whispered into his ear. Gibbs turned his head down, quickly thinking about what he should do. He put his hands onto hers, and then he removed them from his body.

"I'm sorry Jen, but maybe you should have married Rick" he said, and felt her step back.

Jen was shocked as she stumbled backwards, she could not believe this was happening, she couldn't believe he dismissed her.

"W-what?" she stammered, not wanting to realize he did not feel for her like she felt for him.

"Just go, Jen, you're wasting your time here. I won't take you back, in my opinion you've made your choice already" he told her and turned around to face her. The sight of her tipped him off, he couldn't help but to notice how beautiful she was, even with her dress soaked with water and her hair just as wet, but her whole appearance amazed him. She also looked so vulnerable, and even though she was so wet, he could see a tear roll down her face. She shook her head violently, and the water drops cascaded from her hair.

"You don't get it do you? Do you have any idea what it's like to choose between your fiancé and a past lover? Well, it sure as hell wasn't easy, and I kind of freaked out when I woke up in bed with you. I was so afraid to leave my fiancé that I didn't realize I was free to choose between you. But my choice was wrong. During these past weeks I haven't been able to take my mind of you. You are the man I truly love, Jethro" her voice was shaking as she spoke, both from her crying and the cold, but he looked at her without emotion.

"We can't, Jen. I can't. If you just had sorted out your feelings a little sooner, then maybe. But it's too late I believe" he told her and she closed her eyes.

"Fine then, I guess I'll leave" she opened her eyes, she didn't look at him, just turned away from him and hurried up the stairs, desperate to get out of the house. She threw the door open and went back out into the rain. Her driver had gone, she had told him he didn't need to stick around, she had been certain Gibbs would take her back. She stumbled against his low wooden fence; she felt her dress rip a little. She stood on his drive way, the rain pouring down over her, now heavier than ever.

She did not know what she would do now; she had no cell phone, no money on her, just a ripped wedding dress and a broken heart. She took a few steps forward, but stopped again as she realized she had nowhere to go, it was too far to walk home in a soaked wedding dress in a rain storm. She closed her eyes and felt the raindrops join the tear rolling down her face. He did not want her, in less than an hour she had lost two men; neither would want her back after she had hurt them both so badly. But now the one hurting the most was probably her, she would have to live with the guilt and the fact that none of the only two men she loved wanted her. She just didn't know what she would do.

"Jen!" she suddenly heard a voice call from behind her "Jen, wait up!"

Jen turned around and to her great surprise she saw Gibbs coming running from his front porch. He went out into the rain and slowed his pace down as he walked out on the drive way.

"What?" Jen sobbed, her voice betrayed how heartbroken she was, she was sure he had come out just to give her a ride home or something. He stopped a few meters away from her.

"I love you" he said honestly, and her sobbing got caught in her throat.

"What?" she whispered breathlessly. She couldn't believe he had just said that to her, she felt her body and heart warm up as she embraced the words.

Gibbs stared at her where she stood on his drive way, she looked so broken and hurt, but still absolutely beautiful, even though there were a rip in her dress.

He started to run toward Jen, and the second he reached her he wrapped his arms around her waist and pulled her into a deep kiss. Jen locked her lips together with his, and their tongues caressed each other. She put her hand around his neck and held him closer, pulling her fingers through his now soaking wet hair. The kiss was intense and heated, they both put all their feelings into it, and it became the most perfect kiss Jen had ever shared with someone.

When they finally were forced to pull away from each other for lack of oxygen, Jen held her face close to his, staring into his eyes and she gasped for breath.

"I love you" he repeated and she smiled

"What made you change your mind?" she questioned, and felt him tighten his grip around her body.

"When you left my basement, I felt like my heart broke all over again, like it had when you left me after the night we spend together. And I realized, suppressing my feelings for you won't make then go away, I decided I would follow my heart instead, and here I am" he explained, and Jen pressed her lips against his once again.

Gibbs stroked a streak of wet hair out of her face "Why don't we go inside?" he suggested, but she gave him a soft smile.

"This is just like in Paris" she exclaimed and he couldn't help but to laugh.

"Yeah, yeah it is" he laughed, and his words were followed by another heated kiss out in the rain.

_Well, the world's most beautiful couple has found each other! Please let me know what you thought about this chapter._

_I will continue to write a few chapters to this fic, purely because I love to write sweet stuff with Jen and Gibbs…From now on I will have both more and less time to write, because I am starting my summer holiday now. But keep your eyes open for updates and I hope you all are doing great and I bid you all a happy weekend!_

_Emma_


	10. Desires

Gibbs held up his front door for Jen to get in. She stepped into his hallway and he quickly shut the door behind them. He turned to her and noticed she was shivering slightly, he was too feeling a bit cold, and wondered what she was willing to do to keep warm, he had a few ideas, but didn't know if she was up for them.

"Let's get ourselves dry, now shall we?" he asked her, this way she could tell him what she wanted, he didn't want to push her. Jen nodded and looked down at her wet dress.

"Sorry for getting your floor wet" she apologized as she felt she was standing in a pool of water.

"It's ok, we can take care of that later" he laughed, causing her to smile. His laughter ceased as he looked down at her, and found her staring up at him. Neither knew what to do, neither dared to make the first move, afraid to either be too head-on or to be too subtle.

"So…maybe we should…maybe I should get out of this dress…" Jen said quietly, her legs felt like ice, and she was afraid they would not be able to bear her body weight for much longer.

"Yeah, you can go to the bathroom, I'll go change my clothes and bring you something dry" Gibbs suggested, giving her the space she deserved. But Jen made a small smile at him.

"I appreciate you being this nice and considerate to me, but if you want to help me, you come with me and help me with the zipper, because I can't reach it" she explained to him and he nodded.

"Ok, I just thought…"

"I know. I know what you thought, and you're really sweet. But I'm not afraid, Jethro. I can handle this" she cut him off, and placed her hand upon his shoulder and widened her smile.

"I get it, I was just being careful" he told her, then he dared to ask her "What do you want to do next? I mean we could have some coffee and curl up together on the couch, or we could…"

"How about we discuss that later?" Jen suggested and slid her hand down his arm until she reached his hand. She intertwined her fingers with his and stared into his eyes with longing and love.

"If you say so" Gibbs released his hand from hers and put his hand on the small of her back instead.

"You go to the bathroom, while I go and fetch us some towels" he smiled and walked off and disappeared into the bedroom. Jen removed a string of wet hair from her face before she sighed and made her way to the bathroom.

Jen stepped into the dark room and knew from experience exactly where the light switch was. She turned on the light and looked around in the very familiar bathroom; she smiled to herself, confident about the situation, when she heard footsteps coming up behind her. She turned around, still with the smile on her lips, and saw Gibbs approaching her.

Gibbs entered the bathroom and found Jen stand in the middle of the bathroom on the rug. He put down the towels he was carrying on the toilet lid and turned to her.

"So, was I supposed to help you with your dress?" he asked. Jen didn't answer; she just turned around so he could reach it.

Gibbs' gaze travelled down her neck, down the zipper of the dress that ended right above her butt. He admired the sight for a few seconds, until Jen's voice made him aware of the situation.

"Ok, I think you've looked for long enough now, can you please help me get out of this dress? I'm freezing" she said, trying hard not to laugh as she immediately felt his hands on her shoulder blades, he trailed them down her back until he found the zipper. He slowly drew it downwards while Jen pressed her elbows against her sides to prevent the dress from falling down once it was un-zipped. Gibbs removed his hands from her back and she turned around, her hands holding up the dress over the chest.

Jen's gaze travelled from his wet clothes to his face, framed by his wet silver hair that lay like glued to his skull. Her eyes found his, and their gazes locked together. A shiver from her broke their connection and Gibbs realized they both needed to warm up, or they'd be sick.

"You get out of that dress, and put on something warm, you can borrow a sweat shirt and pants from me" he suggested, but Jen shook her head.

"I have a better idea" she started and he raised his eyebrows.

"I'm all ears"

"How about we take a hot bath?" she glanced at the bathtub to her left as she spoke, and the suggestion was met by a smile from Gibbs.

"That sounds perfect" he agreed "Why don't you prepare and I'll go and get us something to drink?"

"Sure" she replied and Gibbs left the bathroom and she turned on the water. While the tub quickly filled with water, she decided to undress herself. She released the dress and let it fall to the ground. She let it lay where it landed, it was already trashed, so she didn't mind if it got dirty. Jen undid her bra and threw it onto her dress along with her panties. She reached out and turned off the water as the tub was almost full. She turned her head to see if Gibbs was coming, but she did not see him. Anyway, she was freezing, and the warm water was so tempting she decided to get into it. She let out a low moan as she slid down into the water, a shiver from pleasure went up her spine and she closed her eyes and enjoyed the warmness that came over her body. She heard footsteps approaching and understood he was finally coming to join her. She heard him closing the door and put down two glasses.

Gibbs smiled as he watched the beautiful woman lying in his bathtub, he smiled even wider to the knowledge she was waiting desperately for him to join her. He put down some candles onto the small counter and lit them before turning off the lights.

Jen noticed how it suddenly got darker, but she could smell something burning, and realized he had lit candles. She heard him take off his clothes and drop them onto the floor next to her dress, and her entire body started to tingle.

"Jen…" he whispered into her ear and she opened her eyes and looked up at him. She slid her body forward to let him sit down behind her, and then she moved back when she felt he was sitting comfortably. His legs were on either side of her body, his knees sticking up of the water. Jen leaned back against his chest, placing her head on his shoulder.

Gibbs felt her weight upon him, he didn't mind it. He removed her hair from her shoulder and left light kisses on her skin. He heard her giggling and continued to kiss her shoulder and neck.

Jen raised her head and placed her hand on his knee. She was now sure this was the right choice for her, she belonged with Gibbs, and she loved him beyond belief. Jen bent her neck, looking up into his face. He met her eyes, and at the same time they both brought their faces closer, until their lips met in a kiss. Jen turned her upper body to reach him better as the kiss got hotter. Jen pulled away, smiling.

"I love you" she whispered, and in the light from the candles, she saw a smile play on his lips as well. She brushed her lips gently against his before she turned back and leaned her body against his. She felt his arms sneak around her waist, touching her skin so gently and loving she had to close her eyes to savour the feeling. She lay her head on his shoulder once again.

"This is perfect" he said, and Jen laughed.

"Glad you think so too"

Gibbs lips left her skin as he reached out to bring their glasses.

"Here you go" he offered her a glass of Bourbon and she immediately accepted it.

"Thank you"

They clinked their glasses together and Jen inhaled the scent of the drink before taking a sip from it. The aroma, the warm water around her and Gibbs comfortable body behind her made her sleepy...

_"Jenny...Jenny...Jen!"_

Jen heard someone calling her name, and when she slowly opened her eyes, it took a few seconds for her to realize where she was.

"Jethro?" she asked in a hoarse voice, and she heard him laughing behind her "What happened?"

"You fell asleep in my bathtub, that's what happened!" he chuckled, causing a smile to play on Jen's lips as well.

"I did?"

"You certainly did. I started to wonder why you were being so quiet" he responded and added "Maybe we should get up, the water's getting kind of cold, right?"

"Yeah, did you bring any towels?"

"They're on the toilet lid right there" he told her and watched with great interest as she lifted her body out of the tub, and wrapped a towel around herself. She noticed him watching her, but she didn't really care if he watched her or not, frankly she would have been more surprised if he hadn't been watching her. Jenny held up his towel for him as he got himself out of the water.

"Thank you" he said as she wrapped the towel around him.

"You're more than welcome" she replied and closed her eyes as he stepped closer to her and started to rub her back in order to help her warm up, and then she suddenly felt his lips pressing against her own. She pulled her lips away from his, and he pulled her into a tight hug instead. Neither of them said a word, Jen just felt Gibbs' hands move around across her back and she had her face buried in his neck. They did not know for ow long they stood like this, but at last Jen couldn't keep herself from shivering from cold, and Gibbs pulled away from her.

"We should dry up, I don't want you to get sick" he said in a low voice and she nodded in agreement.

"I know a place where we can warm up, I think" Jen said in a seductive tone of voice, and Gibbs smiled as he understood perfectly well what she was talking about.

"After you" he replied and followed Jenny out of the bathroom, her hand in a tight grip around his wrist. Once they reached his bedroom, their towels quickly fell to the floor and they crawled up in Gibbs' bed, where the temperature were getting hotter and hotter...

Afterwards, Gibbs was lying on his back and Jen laid curled up next to him with his arm under her neck. She trailed her fingertips across his chest, making him look down at her. She smiled at him.

"Are you warm now, Jen?" he wondered, but smiled as he knew she was, he could feel her body was still hot.

"Did you really have to ask?" she answered and heard him chuckle. Gibbs kissed her hair, though it was still wet from the rain, but he didn't mind. He didn't mind because all he cared about was that she was there, with him.

Jen suddenly moved her body and climbed on top of him. She giggled as she saw the expression he wore as she did so; a mixture of pleasant surprise and desire. She'd always loved being on top, in control, especially with him. And he knew it. She could feel his chest rise up and down as he breathed heavily, trying to pace himself, but letting his hands wander free over her back. Jenny smiled widely as she understood his desire, she was feeling the same way herself. She felt her heart race and her body heating up once again as she was ready for a second round. She locked her lips together with his, and when she pulled away to take a breath, she blurted out a few words in the heat of passion.

"Jethro, marry me" she stopped in her movements the second she had spoken, and she felt Gibbs' hands becoming still on her back as he looked at her with great surprise. Jen awkwardly rolled off him, closing her eyes as she landed on the mattrass next to him. This was it, now she had screwed everything up, she thought as she heard Gibbs clear his throat.

"Are you serious?" he asked, and to her surprise, his voice was soft, loving, almost happy. Jenny opened her eyes and turned her head to face him, and she saw the same feelings in his eyes as she had heard in his voice.

"I don't know. I think so" she wasn't sure if she was ready for a wedding just yet, but one thing she was sure about was that she would be ready, some day not too far away in the future she could picture herself marrying Gibbs.

"Good, because my answer is yes, Jen" he told her and turned over so that he was resting on his side, leaning on his elbow and facing her. Jen couldn't keep the smile off her face.

"Jethro..." she whispered, not entirely sure what she should say "Jethro, I..." she tried again, but quickly realized she was not capable of making up a sentence that would make sense right now, so she simply decided to shut up.

"We don't have to rush it. we can have the wedding whenever you feel you're ready for it" he assured her, like if he had just read her mind, and she nodded in agreement.

"I think that was what I was trying to tell you" she admitted, making him laugh.

"I love you" he told her before rolling over and placing himself on top her this time. Jenny giggled but didn't put up any resistance, she let him be in control this time. His body had her pinned down to the bed, and she slid her legs around his waist.

"And I love you too" she replied before his mouth covered hers and they both gave in for their desires.

_Okay, so what do you think about that? Just pure Jibbs love... Well, please leave me a review, and I shall update as soon as I can. Thanks for reading!_

_Emma_


	11. Hot Kisses, Rain and Memories of Paris

About three months later.

It was early evening, and the soft September-sun was sinking down behind the treetops in the park in Washington DC. In the early autumn, the leaves had already began to change color, it was now a mix of red, yellow and green. The sky was cloudy, the rain could start falling any minute, but that did not stop a certain couple from taking a walk underneath the colorful leaves that seemed to brighten up the grey ceiling.

Jenny Shepard pulled her scarf tighter around her neck, the chilly wind made her shiver slightly. Leroy Jethro Gibbs who as walking next to her noticed her attempts to keep warm and wrapped his arm around her shoulders and pulled her closer to him. She looked up at him and smiled as she slid her own arm around his waist.

"Are you cold?" he asked her, but she just shook her head before leaning it against his shoulder.

"Not anymore" she replied. Gibbs smiled at her response. They had been together for three months now, and durning that time, Jen had practically moved into his house. But she refused to sell her own house, she had lived there as a child and when her father died she inherited it. They were now planning on moving to her place, after all it had a basement big enough for a boat...

They walked in silence for a while, both enjoying what was left of the beautiful autumn day, the sun was still visible over the treetops. Jenny played with her engagement ring, they had bought it about two months ago, when they had decided to make their engagement official. They had agreed to not rush the wedding, it would happen when they were ready.

Gibbs took a sip from the coffee in his hand, it warmed him, but so did the woman next to him.

"Want some?" he asked her and offered his coffee to her. She gripped the cup with her free hand and drank from it. Then she grimaced and handed it back to him.

"A little too strong" she complained, but he chuckled lightly before taking another sip.

"Strong's better" he replied

"Not when it's disgusting" she shot back.

"Don't make me waste my coffee on your head" he threatened playfully

"You wouldn't dare. Don't forget, I'm still your boss" she added with a smile and looked up at him. He met her gaze and kissed her forehead.

"I'm not worried. Besides, I'm sleeping with the boss now. I don't think I've ever said that before..." he said thoughfully.

"Probably because all your previous bosses has been male" she laughed and he laughed with her.

"You have a point"

Gibbs drank what was left of his coffee and then threw the empty cup into a garbage bin. He still had his arm around her shoulders as they kept walking. Suddenly Jenny noticed a man walking toward them, he looked oddly familiar...

"Rick!" she burst out in surprise when they met.

"Jenny...Gibbs..." he replied a bit awkwardly and glanced from her to him. Gibbs noticed he appeared very uncomfortable, and he couldn't blame him. Rick held his gaze for a moment, until Jen's voice made him turn to her.

"How have you been?" Jenny asked softly, she was very aware of that she had Gibbs' arm around her.

"I've been...fine" he said hesitantly, but Jen understood she had hurt him badly, and she felt sorry for him. "And you? How are you?" he continued in the same tense voice

"Good" she replied quickly "Just good..."

"Are you and Gibbs...?"

"Yes, we are together" Jen said softly. Gibbs noticed how Rick avoided to speak to him, or even look at him. Ah, what the hell! He still had the girl, and when he thought about it, he maybe never would have realized his true feelings for Jen if it hadn't been for Rick in the first place.

"Engaged?" he asked when he noticed her ring.

"Yeah" she wore a sad look on her face, a look that made Gibbs a bit uncomfortable. He wondered if she had ever had any regrets about leaving Rick for him. When he glanced from his fiancée to Rick, he saw that their eyes met, and he wasn't sure, but it could have been a look of longing in her eyes for about a second.

"Well, I should be off to work. I'm working at the bar tonight" Rick excused himself and broke eye-contact with Jen.

"Okay, but take care. And I'm sorry" she said sadly, she didn't know why she suddenly felt like this, but it felt like she was rejecting him all over again.

"What for?" he replied with a slight smile "You have Gibbs now, isn't that what you wanted?"

Gibbs waited anxiously for Jen to answer, surely they hadn't talked about Rick since the break-up, but still... her behaviour worried him.

"Yeah, it is" she finally answered, though the tone in her voice was not enough to have Gibbs convinced.

"Well then, I wish you luck" He started to walk past them, but when Jen called his name, he turned back. She had also turned and was looking sadly at him

"Bye Rick" she said at last, and he gave her a weak smile

"Good bye Jenny" and after those words, he turned away and hurried off. Jen stood still and watched him walk away. A chilly wind made the leaves fall from above, one of them landed in her hair, but she didn't notice it - not until she felt someone remove it. She glanced up at Gibbs, who had been watching the whole good-bye scence between her and Rick.

"What the hell was that?" Gibbs asked and when Jenny glanced at him again, she noticed his pale blue eyes held a coldness she had never seen before.

"What was what?" she asked back, trying to keep her voice casual, but she couldn't stop a certain tension from being heard.

"That, with Rick just now. I saw the way you looked at him, Jen" there was hurt in his voice, a hurt Jenny could not understand.

"I wasn't-" she started to protest, but he immediately cut her off.

"You did. Don't lie to me, Jen. Break my heart, just don't lie to me" it already hurt, but he prefered the truth instead of of lies, even though the truth was the scarier of the two.

"I would never lie to you" she spoke in a soft voice, but he answered with a shrug.

"Good to know" he replied and continued "Then honestly explain to me why you acted like you were still in love with Rick"

"What makes you think I'm still in love with Rick?" she wondered and stared at him in disbelief. What could she possibly have done that made him believe such a thing?

"I'm neither blind nor deaf, Jen. I saw the look you gave him and I heard the tone in your voice when you spoke to him" he replied and gave her another ice-cold glare.

"Jethro, I..." she started, but had to lower her gaze before she could continue, his frosty expression made her shiver with cold. She closed her eyes for a moment and gathered whatever courage she needed to meet his eyes. When she opened them she raised her head and fearlessly stared into his eyes, and she did not look away.

"I haven't seen him since the wedding day" her voice was confident and clear. For once, when it came to choosing between Rick and Gibbs, she knew how she truly felt.

"Meeting him again like this brought out the guilt I should have felt when I broke up with him, but right then I was just too eager to get to you, that I didn't have a chance to feel anything" Jen explained to him and while she spoke she had moved to sit down on the bench behind Gibbs which had forced him to turn around.

"Trust me when I say I'm not in love with him anymore. It's you my heart belongs to" she said and stared up at him, waiting for any kind of response from him. She pleasantly noticed the ice in his eyes had started to melt away, the coldness was replaced with warmth and curiousity in the pale blue eyes of his.

Gibbs stood still and looked down at her, thinking about what she had just said. He glanced up at the sky at the sound of thunder before he joined her on the bench. At first they sat in silence, both avoided looking at each other, then Jenny opened her mouth to talk.

"I left him so cold; I left him at the alter on our wedding day in front of everyone. He even understood I was gonna go to you" she told him, her voice was low, but loud enough for him to hear her. She continued

"I don't regret leaving him, though. I only regret the way I left him. I could have - should have - realized sooner I wanted to be with you. I could have spared him the humiliation of being rejected by his bride on his wedding day" she silenced as another thunder was heard, this was followed by the rain that lightly started to drizzle down over them.

"Break-ups are never easy, Jen" Gibbs sighed and turned his head toward her, only to find she was already looking at him.

"No, they're not" she agreed and shivered slightly when the wind caressed them with its ice-cold hands. Gibbs automatically reached out his arm to wrap it around her shoulders and pulled her closer to him.

"You won't abandon me on our wedding day?" he asked lightly, teasing her.

"If you're not nice, maybe I will" she shot back, smiling up at him.

"Oh, that depends on your definition of 'nice', 'cause you know, I'm still gonna tease you" He placed a kiss on her forehead and she leaned her head against his shoulder affectionally as she replied.

"I know I can't stop you from teasing me, if I could I would have done so a long time ago, you have always teased me. My definition of nice, is that you behave yourself, and that you're honest with me"

"Ok, then I can be nice" he promised as the rain started to fall harder.

"Whatever happened to the beautiful September evening they had promised?" Gibbs mumbled and Jen gave up a small laugh.

"Isn't this our kind of weather? Rain, in a park..." her voice trailed off as they both easily remembered a certain rainy day in Paris.

"Wanna take a walk in the rain?" Gibbs asked her and she lifted her head from his shoulder at his suggestion.

"Sounds nice" she agreed with a smile and they rose from the bench at the same time. But just when Jenny was about to start walking, Gibbs drew her toward him. He slid his arms around her waist, resting his hands on the small of her back on top of her red coat. She looked at him with pleasant surprise, but quickly wrapped her own arms around his neck. She seductively stared into his eyes, and Gibbs admired her beauty, not just how beautiful her eyes were, but everything that was in front of him. He decided to give voice to his thoughts.

"You are beautiful, Jenny" he complimented, taking his eyes from hers and let his gaze wander over her face, her now wet hair, until he finally glanced at her mouth before he found her eyes again. He noticed she had started to blush at his last comment, and it almost made her even more beautiful.

"Thank you" she said and pulled her fingers through his soaked hair "And you are very handsome" she gave back and they both smiled at each other. The rain was nearly pouring now, soaking their clothes and bodies, but neither of them cared, all they saw was each other.

Gibbs drew his head closer to hers until his nose rubbed against hers. Jenny enjoyed his warm breath against her face, she felt her heartbeats increase at having him so close. Gibbs quickly closed the gap between them as he forcefully pressed his lips against hers. He slipped one of his hands up her back, finally resting it between her shoulderblades and pressed her body against his. Jenny drew her hands through his hair and continued down over his shoulderblades until she finally decided to keep her arms wrapped tightly around his neck.

She kissed him hotly but with forceful passion and firely love, his response was just as hot and filled with the same love and affection as she put into the kiss. While they hotly continued to explore each others mouths, the rain poured down over them. But neither of them cared, beacuse some memories are more precious than others, especially memories of hot kisses in the rain in Paris...

**_The End_**

_Well, everyone, this is it! This is the very end of Rain in Paris. I decided to not write a wedding scene between Jenny and Gibbs because I will be having that in my other story Listen to you heart, and I don't want to have to write two wedding scenes with the same couple. But I hope this ending will do..._

_I want to thank everyone who has read and reviewed this story, I am so happy and so proud of it. I have really loved writing this story, but everything eventually reaches its end. It really warms me when I get your reviews. But this is the end, and what could be a better end than kisses in the rain? _

_Thank you all so much, and please review!!!!_

_Take care,_

_Emma_


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